#THGstory

[shesasurvivor]

My Hunger Games Story

I debated whether or not I wanted to do this. I wasn’t asked to share this, but my Hunger Games story is important to me. My story began during a dark period in my life. Those of you who have been following me for a while are probably already familiar with it. I’ve come a long ways since then. But The Hunger Games dramatically changed my life, and who I am, and with the new story out there in the world, maybe it’s time to tell it again.

Five months after my oldest sister passed away from a horrorific battle against cancer, I was alone in a city, trying to figure out who I was now that my old world had ended, and things would never be the same. Who was I now? What kind of a person was I? The illusion of safety was gone forever. The naivete of childhood was gone, and replaced with an existential crisis. This was in March 2012, and in the backdrop of my life, as I dealt with this, the media was abuzz with the news of the film adaptation of The Hunger Games. I knew nothing about it, aside seeing the books on Best Seller displays frequently at bookstores. I had liked Harry Potter, but skipped the Twilight craze, and figured it would be the same thing with this new pop culture fixation. I literally remember walking past a display window at Barnes and Noble that promoted the books and upcoming movie, and thinking, “Now there’s a movie I’ll never see.”

A couple weeks later, my cousin, who was also my coworker and only real friend near me, physically, at the time, was reading something on her break from her work. I asked her what she was reading, and she told me it was The Hunger Games. I was a little surprised, and asked her if she liked it. She summarized the story, and said all though it was “a little bit teenybopper” it was good. When she explained it was a dystopian tale, my interest was finally piqued. Dystopian had alwasy been a favorite genre of mine. Reading 1984 in my teens scarred me for life.

That same night, my (other, living) sister posted on Facebook that she had just finished the first book. I was surprised that she and my cousin were both reading this book, and seemed to like it. Then, the next day, my mom calls me, and says, “ I just finished reading The Hunger Games; you HAVE to read this book!” I went home and bought the Kindle version that night. 

Not going to lie, it took me a little bit to get into it. But I knew I already liked it. I was looking up fanfiction before I was even done with part 1. I’m ashamed to admit that I started out looking for Gale, but when the rule change occured, and Peeta told Katniss to, “Remember, we’re madly in love, so it’s all right to kill me any time you feel like it,” I threw my head back in laughter. That was the moment I fell in love with Peeta, and that was the moment that turned me into an Everlark shipper.

By the time I finished the first book, it was Easter, and my mom had flown out to spend the holiday with me. The Saturday before, we went to see the movie. I hated it from the first viewing. I remember having to fight the urge to stand up and yell at the screen, I was so disappointed in it. After the movie, we visited the local Target, and I bought Catching Fire and Mockingjay, where I started reading immediately.

Catching Fire was even better than the first book, and made the shipper in me so happy. Mockingjay, on the other hand, changed me. It was so moving, and heartbreaking, and thought-provoking. When I finished the series at last, I remember hugging the books to me, and wondering if I could somehow find a way to convince Suzanne Collins to write more books. Which was why, when she announced she was writing a new book, I felt like my one greatest wish had finally come true.

The series stuck with me, and I was obsessed. I began reading as much analysis on the series as I could find. I began reading about trauma and PTSD, and their role in the series.

And that’s when I realized I had symptoms of PTSD. 

It was another year before I got help. During that time, my mental health declined significantly. On top of the horror I went through watching my sister slowly waste away, I also had an abusive boss who only aggravated things for me. Even after I started getting therapy, it took a while to climb my way out. I started drinking to deal with the massive hyperarousal I was dealing with. I started having dissociative episodes, that terrified me. I had no idea what they were at the time, and truly thought my mind had broken completely. I finally realized I was at a point where I either needed to check myself into a mental hospital, or quit my job and move back in with my parents while I put myself back together. I chose the latter. 

It wasn’t fun living with my parents again, but it provided the sanctuary I needed. Slowly, I began to heal. I found a new job in my new city. I met a guy there, and one of our first exchanges was when he told me he loved the books so much, he was upset at what the movies had done to them. I thought I had found a Peeta, but unfortunately, neither of us were really in a place where we could be in a healthy relationship. Still, the experience helped me heal, and it was because The Hunger Games had brought us together.

At some point, I was finally put on medication to handle my PTSD symptoms, and my life changed signficantly for the better. It’s been (mostly) uphill ever since, and today, you would have no idea that I have PTSD, save for the occasional jump at a sudden loud noise. But The Hunger Games... it started that change in me. It gave me an outlet for the heavy emotions of grief. Reading Mockingjay was the only time I could truly get myself to cry after losing my sister, because I’m not very outwardly emotional. 

The exploration of ethics, morals, and philosophy in The Hunger Games really helped cement my own values as well. I feel like that could be a whole other post, though. But just as Katniss learned to be more compassionate, and that kindness and humanity mattered more than basic survival, I learned this as well. 

The very first thing my mom told me when she finished Catching Fire, was, “I just finished Catching Fire; you are SO Katniss!!” I think I grabbed onto this a little too much back in 2012-2013, because it helped me work things out. But the similaries were definitely there, almost to a scary degree. I’m still protective of this series, and Katniss, because it feels so much like it’s a part of me. It’s a part of my soul. I can’t begin to describe how important these books are to me. It transcends a normal fandom love. Even with as much as I love Star Wars, it’ll never be what The Hunger Games is to me. THG is deeper, and far more profound in my life. That’s why I get a little miffed sometimes, when I feel like I’m, I don’t know, being overlooked in the fandom? This is so deeply important to me, and I just want a voice to make it known that it is so. I think, as I’ve gotten older, I’m not exactly lke Katniss anymore, but the similarity is still there, and these books will always be with me. 

Oh! And before I wrap this up, I should probably mention that it’s because of The Hunger Games that I met my best friend, @triplebigday! We live in two different states at the moment, but we’re still practically inseperable. She is family at this point.

I also met another friend, who was active here arouuund 2012-2013 (parachutesfromhaymitch). She’s long since left the fandom, but she’s brought out some of the best in me. Her influence is another reason I am where I am today.

Nothing has ever impacted me the way this world has, and I suspect nothing ever will again.

#THG #THGstory #I feel like I left a lot out but honestly #thinking too much about how I used to be #can trigger some bad stuff #and I've already been backsliding a bit this week #so here we are

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

My THG Journey

Well I guess it just goes to show how long I’ve been lurking around this fandom that I know I’ve done this at least once, maybe twice before. But… given new book content and all, I guess I’ll share a little more than I previously have, too. Thanks to @everlarkedalways for being a champion of keeping the fandom discourse open. I’ve been enjoying reading some of our newer members’ stories and seeing where you come from.

Below a cut because I’m long winded. Sorry. :D

It’s hard to pinpoint one reason why I’m so drawn to The Hunger Games, I think maybe because there’s multiple levels to my love of it, multiple strings of the story connecting it to my heart. 

At first it was that Katniss stole my heart with one sentence. “District Twelve. Where you can starve to death in safety.” Until that moment, I was curious, but somewhat detached. That wry sense of humor though… that hooked me, and I only kept falling deeper for her as the pages went by. It had nothing to do with me relating to her, necessarily. I don’t really see a lot of myself in Katniss, but I still fell in love with her.

Yes, there was that page turning frenzy of “what happens next?!?!?!?” with the first book. Let’s face it, Suzanne really knows how to capture and keep her audience invested. The need to know the end kept me going for a long time.

I’ll confess that my complete love for Katniss actually had me doubtful and suspicious of Peeta for a long time. I didn’t start to trust him until she did. I’ve known and dated guys who sounded or acted like Peeta at first… who say exactly the right thing, do exactly the right thing, but if they don’t really mean it… if their motivations are selfish or manipulative… they eventually show their real selves. In other words, I was expecting Peeta to turn out to be a snake, and he didn’t quite have my love until close to the end of the first book. By the time they went home, though, he’d won me over. By then, I just wanted them both to be happy and safe. 

Since I came to the series around the time the first movie was released, all three books were out, so my binge of the first book turned into a binge of the second. I wasn’t sure what to expect, having miraculously avoided spoilers. Yes, there was some aspect of the romance that caught my heart, and I was inching closer and closer to the Everlark shipping territory with every page, but there was also another aspect of it that really hit home.

Katniss and Peeta’s return to the arena. Round and round we go, where it stops, nobody knows.

My life has been shaped by the military. I was born into it. Military brat for 16 years (which was when my dad retired). Then I joined it. Then I married it.

Two of my good friends were married to each other, and I had thought, such an amazing couple. They always seemed so much stronger together, so supportive. But, he was in the Army and deployment schedules at the time were harsh. It was already several years after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq and the war showed no signs of letting up. They went through a divorce, a really nasty one. But when PTSD turns into domestic abuse and he doesn’t want help… what else can you do? 

We lost him. She lost her husband, and because I was there for her first and foremost (I’d known her longer and in many ways better), I lost him too, one of my good friends. He had been there for me, alongside of her, when my own seriously toxic relationship with my high school sweetheart eventually came to it’s also very ugly end.

Meanwhile, my own spouse’s deployment schedule was just ramping up. Round and round, over and over. The reasons for us even sending troops overseas became murkier by the month. We lost another friend, this one to death. He was the type of person you think “Oh no. Not him,” over. The type you think doesn’t deserve it at all. Round and round with no end in sight.

Add on my spouse coming home with a mild and worsening with each deployment case of PTSD (getting shot at multiple times, almost crashing multiple times, and flying aeromedical evacuation missions and seeing 19 year old kids holding their own intestines together will do that). My bipolar flaring up and starting to become unmanageable depression more than anything else. We were already parents, and I started to wonder if we were even fit to be so, given our mental status. There was always this question of why fight a war if it’s not justified? What justifies that level of violence? Why are we doing this? And… the big piece that I have held quiet for a very long time in this fandom out of fear of judgement, guilt, and a heaping pile of regret…

My job while I was in the military was with a research, test, and development laboratory. To be specific, I worked on weapons development projects. My first job? Testing bombs. Mainly I worked with navigation systems, trying to make anything we dropped as accurate as possible. I rationalized that at least they’d only hurt the people they intend to, right? Except the thing is, once you make that thing and it’s handed over to the military… you lose control of how it’s used, and on whom. The fact is, since my hands were in the creation of that thing, whoever it killed, I had helped kill. Who did I kill? How many??? I don’t know, and it still haunts me to this day. 

Clearly I was not cut out for military service. My dad did try to warn me of that when I signed my life away to them...

My second job was in an entirely different research lab, and with a whole new set of projects. Not bombs this time. Eventually, I was placed on a project that shouldn’t have even existed. To be blunt... It was an illegal weapon. Or it should’ve been classed as one, if it ever saw production. At the time I was put on the project, it was still in the “Can we even make this work?” stages. Without going into gory detail, I will simply say that the manner of death it caused was gruesome and well beyond the realm of “do not cause undo harm.” There’s also the added extension of the fact that it was conceived as a nonlethal weapon and someone said… “can we amp it up and make it lethal?” So they tried. And they succeeded. Which is just wrong on a number of levels.

So I said something. I told my commander that I thought it was wrong to lethalize a nonlethal weapon. It was also just wrong as a lethal weapon period, even without the nonlethal confusion. It violated Geneva Convention, Law of Armed Conflict, and any sense of human decency. I told him we shouldn’t even be playing around with it.

Where are the bounds of what is acceptable to do to another human being?

I protested. I was told to shut up and do my job. So the first chance I had, I left. The channels that should have been there to protect me in terms of speaking up and making a change, did nothing. They gave me the same response. Shut up and do your job, lieutenant.

Maybe leaving the military was the coward’s way out. Maybe all I did was shove the problem into someone else’s lap, but I had run out of apparent options and it was destroying me. One test at a time.

It continued to wreck me as the years went on, and I kept having to say good-bye to my husband, live through nights when I wouldn’t know if I was a widow or not for days at a time. Would I have to explain this to my children one day? How would I even open that conversation? I had left my own military service behind but it was still affecting me. I was losing and gaining weight at scary rates. My hair started falling out. I’d have nightmares or tremors and all kinds of fun things. I started avoiding all of my friends. Barely talked to my sisters or my parents.

And what about the people on the other side of this? The people of Iraq and Afghanistan, and all the other places the USA has dragged it’s fist through? If we were so willing to do these things in theory, what atrocities are we actually committing to others?

And then, one night, about six months before I turned 30, while Mr. KDNFB was once again in harms way on a mission neither of us were even sure was ethical let alone worth his life, I saw an interview on TV that reminded me of those books I had but never read. The book trilogy that had sat on my e-reader, purchased on sale, for months. So I cracked it open and read the whole trilogy in four days. Then went right back for a reread.

By the time I got to Mockingjay the first time, I was, like so many others, incensed and fired up. I wanted the districts to rise up. I wanted Katniss to destroy Snow and overthrow the Capitol. Part of having the military shape my life includes an awful lot of studying military theories and rhetoric. A lot of it now turns my stomach, but at the time of reading the books, I wasn’t yet able to articulate that, or why the philosophies of war I’d studied for so many years, turned my stomach.

Then Suzanne pulled the best bait and switch I’ve ever read. Because instead of giving us Hollywood Blockbuster, she gave us Misery Porn Extraordinaire. And if I was already in love with the characters, Mockingjay made me fall in love with the story itself. She held no punches. She asked the hard questions. She asked her readers to ask and answer the hard questions. She reminded me that if you go to war, no one comes out with clean hands. No one. She did not take the easy way out of Everyone lives! It all turns out well!

No. It doesn’t. It’s a fucking struggle every day you wake up with these things in your life or in your past. Every one of her characters does something that they regret. That harms another person they care about. Or countless, unknown strangers. And yet… and yet… we still love these characters. We don’t think they’re monsters. And at the end of it all… at the end, can you live with your choices? Can you move on and can life be good again?

When I started reading the books, I wasn’t sure for myself. I didn’t think I could. By the time Katniss tells Peeta, “Real.” I started thinking maybe I could.

But in the midst of reading... when I had reached the scene with Katniss and Gale discussing the double exploding bombs and his other designs the first time, I had to walk away. Again. It happened multiple times in Mockingjay, but that was a big one of them. It was so close to my own issues. My own regrets and problems. It was so personal to me by that point. How was this in a book? I’d never read anything like it before!

Maybe it’s ridiculous to place the responsibility for my being able to start pulling myself out of a mental health abyss on a book series, but the thing is… there were so few people in my life who understood what I was going through. Some of it was this feeling of isolation. I didn’t relate to very many of the other spouses in my husband’s units. Making friends whenever we moved (which was stupidly often, until recently we never had the same address for more than 2 years). We lived a fair distance away from my closet friends I still talked to, and both of our families. He was gone so often that I usually felt like there was no one I could call and talk to. There was also that “Shut up and do your job,” still ringing in my brain, a constant reminder that this is what it takes to win a war. But... it shouldn’t be. It’s not.

Also for a very long time, I tended to internalize things, with the rationalization that what other people are going through is much worse and therefore I should just deal with my own problems. Silently. Alone. Soldier on, keep moving.

By the way, that’s a terrible way to live life. Do not recommend.

But the point is, that scene with Gale’s designs was like the proverbial nail in the coffin of my heart. There was no going back for me after that. So… I fell into another abyss. One called fandom. It’s been quite the journey from there -- from lurking to writing in secret to actually posting. Writing THG fanfiction and participating in fandom in the limited way I do has been cathartic in a way I cannot even begin to articulate. That’s why I write stories, lol. I work better in fiction. It has both been a healing experience and a reawakening of a side of me -- the inner storyteller -- I thought died in the midst of that oh so lovely toxic relationship of “young love” way back in high school. That wasn’t love, btw. It was… never mind.

The books aren’t the only thing, obviously. I started seeking help more often. Mr. KDNFB slowly made the shift away from combat oriented jobs to his current one as a Hurricane Hunter, we’ve settled in one area so our kids at least won’t have to deal with the constant uprooting and change. A hundred other small things that make life better, but it all feels like it started to get better with these books.

However, I still, to this day, tend to shy away from certain levels of meta discussion and certain types of fanfiction that hit too close to that final layer of connection I have to the series. The war story. I’m not afraid of pouring on the angst, but I tend to not put them in combat or arenas very often. I’d much rather read and write about Everlark in significantly less gruesome lives and worlds (with lots of smut), and enjoy some of the happier aspects of the story. Maybe it’s escapist, but there you go. 

Still, the war and violence aspect of it, that question of what is acceptable and how do we make it good again even after everything we’ve seen, done, or had done to us, is always there in the back of my mind.

In terms of people in the fandom… I often feel like I’m still that military brat. Friends come and go, but each of them has been special to me in a different kind of way. The landscape is always changing. I’ve never known a place I would call my Home anyways. I’ve always defined it by the people around me. The longest I’ve lived in one spot is six years, and I’m quickly approaching the age of 40 here. But my love for these stories hasn’t waned a bit in the last eight years. My url has only changed once since I started tumblr eight years ago, and that was a fairly early change. I’m somehow still posting Everlark fanfiction with the same psued (going on six years as kdnfb) for longer than I’ve ever lived in one spot. Sometimes I feel like I’ve outlived my welcome and should leave it to younger blogs and writers. More often, I wish I could make that leap from fanfiction to published. We’ll see I guess. I’m not giving up on that dream yet. But, I can’t seem to escape THG fully, lol. Maybe I’ll never be able to, but I’d rather have that round and round than the one I had before.

<3 to you all,

kdnfb

#my thg story #THGstory

[itskeisy]

My Hunger Games Journey

It all started back in mid December 2013 when my best friend (Vale) invited a group of close friends (included my sister) to celebrate her birthday to watch Catching Fire in the theater, she had waited to watch it with us. I have to admit that I didn’t knew a thing about The Hunger Games, I was clueless‼️.

My friend Vale says that my sister and I didn’t like the idea of watching Catching fire bc according to us it sound to violent, I think my sister actually said that bc I don’t recall saying something like that (or I don’t want to 🙃)

Anyway after school we went to her home, had lunch, a delicious ceviche (a Ecuadorian ciusine dish), then finally when to the theaters.

The first thing a remember is recognizing Liam as Gale, I knew him bc of his history with Miley and all. Sadly I didn’t knew who Jennifer aka Katniss was. The second thing that catch my attention was Josh as Peeta, I already like him. The rest I remember are flashes like:

Peeta throwing the baby bomb scene: took me by surprise. Not really understanding what was going on

The bloodbath, thinking and wondering, they actually kill?, they actually die?, why they have to die?

The beach scene, I was gigling watching the kiss. At the time I didn’t appreciate and fully understood it

In the between asking A LOT, making my friend Vale tired of the questions to change her seat to he other side of the room

At the end didn’t understanding a thing.

The funny part was that Vale was crying; tears, sobs, yelling and everything. And we were laughing at her, then making questions that all she said was watch the first movie and bla bla bla.

That night we slept over her house, we try watching the first movie but didn’t have it and the next day couldn’t bc we went home. And that’s how I meet The Hunger Games.

In the weeks later I bought the first movie and watch it with my entire family, and of course they didn’t understood at first and were kind of disturbed by the concept of the movie (You know children killing other children).

Having watch the movies didn’t felt enough, I knew there was something else to learn and to know about. And I started to google about it and watch videos in YouTube. And learn that there were books, I already liked reading books but this made grow my love for reading even more.

I didn’t ask for the books right away bc at that time my family were just recovering financially. Anyway I found pdf of the books. The first book I read was Catching Fire, I didn’t want to break the tradition ;). And I totally loved it. Then I read Hunger Games and in this one my sister join me, everything started to make sense. After Hunger Games we read Catching Fire, to read along my sister and to understand the thing that’s scape my attention. And finally we read Mockingjay, I don’t remember much of my time reading sadly.

By that time almost everyone in my high school new my obssetion with THG, Vale who was the person who introduced me, admitted that I knew to much and she was the one with questions and I was the one with answers. Even my sister who I could say is along with me in this journey says that I’m beyond them, taking deeper steps in the fandom.

Wikia Fandom is where I went and still go to have quick answers, I even had organized documents with the information of Fandom, they are gone along with the deck computer I had the docs on (rip). Now I search it whenever I want

I started watching videos of the interviews of the movie premiers with the actors and directors, the behind the scenes, I downloaded those videos in the computer, A LOT , and again (rip) the computer.

I don’t know what I had with downloading things but I kept doing it, not anymore tho, I downloaded images, fan arts and gif. Now I use Pinterest for that ✌🏽

Searching for more images I found out about tumblr, at first I went through blogs and saving images and gif, later on I create a tumblr account. Meanwhile digging further and further in the actors life. And oh boy I didn’t knew what was signing for hahaha!! tumblr is the perfect place for a fangirls like me.

I could keep writing but it’s late and I promise myself I would wake up early.

I’m still living the happy ever after of this journey

❣️❣️❣️I just want to THANK to all the blogs out there (actually to the people) for keeping the fandom alive ❣️❣️❣️

I was forgetting I HAVENT READ THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRD AND SNAKES BC IT WILL ARRIVE IN JUNE THIRD :(

To finish I leave you with this, enjoy pls 😉

Little fun facts

I remember what I was wearing, a white transparentish blouse and a aqua pant, in that time the colorful pants where a thing

I intruced like a true fan THG to everyone

My friends from church love it and totally felt for it, and their parent thought that It was to dark and bloody for teenagers 😂

With the quarantine and everything my older brother, who have watch the movies (his pride would never admitted that REALLY like it). He read the books, and the first 2 books he devour it,read it in 5 days. With Mockingjay he took his time bc according to him Katniss and everything going on stressed him. I know he is a piece is work!! And the WORST part is that he likes Gale better (eyes rolling)

I didn’t sleep peacefully in the good old premier days over thinking in what I was missing

With his new obsession I exploit the internet, and was just the begging

Catching Fire is my favorite book and favorite movie of the trilogy

I made Vale read the books in lunch breaks i always accompanied her, mostly bc I enjoyed watching her reaction.

Sadly, in that time I enjoy spoiling things and I spoiler Vale and other friends about Prim and Finnick dead’s. She was pissed off. And yes I regret that

In a family church camp; my sister, a friend who is also fan and myself in the middle of the night made a little poster of Josh birthday and told everyone that it was his birthday. We look like fools, a happy fools al least.

#thgstory #the hunger games #my thg story #THGstory

[winegirl65]

@everlarkedalways dropped me a line asking me if I would write a short post about my hunger games journey.

I did not “discover” the THG until 2017. Yeah - I guess I live under a rock. I had of course heard of Susan Collins and stumbled upon the movie one late night while I was bottling some of our wine (thus my name). I watched part of the first movie and decided to order the books.  I read the entire series in three days - then watched the movies. Of course the books were so much better.

This was the same time I discovered Tumbler. Then something HUGE happened - I discovered this fandom/AO3 and all these brilliant writers, artists, dialogues and strangers who reached out to each other. I found myself drawn to it and wanting to be a part of the camaraderie. I read without commenting for a very long time. I reread and reread your writings all the time. I started friendships. My family has no idea the depth of my enamor with THG.

In October of 2018 @dandeliononfire contacted me with the idea she had about what became “ToastCon 2019″! I was hesitant but jumped in and made the decision to go - much to the dismay of my husband and children. My son said “this is the beginning of a script for a horror film - make sure your life insurance is paid up”. It was one the BEST decisions I have ever made. These women were welcoming, cerebral, intriguing, hilarious, compassionate, passionate and I remain in awe of all of them to this day. Being able to place a face to the writing is awesome. I learned so many more aspects of the books.  I made friendships and memories I will cherish for a lifetime. I needed that week for me so much and the ladies delivered and then some. 

#thgstory #toastcon2019 #everlark

[everlvrks]

so @everlarkedalways asked how we got into the hunger games so here is my story :)

disclaimer: i’m tired so i’m not sure how much sense this makes.

my brother told me about this film with a peculiar plotline and a baker named ‘pita.’ he suggested i watch it despite me only being 11 years old. i watched and immediately fell in love. i begged my parents to buy me the trilogy and i devoured them in less than three days. i was hooked and i never looked back. i cried and cried over these characters who were little pieces of me when i finished the trilogy for the first time. i didn’t want to say goodbye. so i didn’t. i read and reread. watched and rewatched.

i didn’t join the fandom until after all the movies had been released, probably around early-2017. i regret not joining sooner but i was way too young. i don’t think anyone wants a 13 year old loose on tumblr.

i’m so grateful for this community. i definitely joined as the sun was setting on this fandom, when it was no longer in its prime. but even then, i felt so welcomed. i don’t think ive ever known such a welcoming community. i’ve tried to be in other fandoms but i’ve always felt out of place. i mean i don’t write, i can’t draw. i’m clueless when it comes to gif-making. my best is editing photosets, occasionally. i was hesitant to post my first edit here. i mean, what if people didn’t like them? but people did like them. i dived head-first into this community and i have never wanted to look back.

sometimes, i wonder who id be if i hadn’t spent my formative years obsessing over these characters, books and movies. i’m not really sure i know but i wouldn’t be the same. THG has given me an amazing community of scholars, creators and friends. it got me through my weird middle school years and it continues to give me an escape when things aren’t going so well.

for me, the hunger games is my dandelion in the spring. as katniss says, “the promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. that it can be good again.”

#thgstory #jaz.txt

[fireturned2ashes]

My Hunger Games Journey

Been so buried in Ballads, I figured I’d take a break and dive into my Hunger Games fandom. Thanks to the amazing @everlarkedalways! This will have a read more line. :)

It started a little before the first film released, and was in my Sophomore English Class. That was the assigned book for the semester, and my friend at the time wouldn’t stop gushing over it to me. Crazy how things look now, when I’m the one doing that with my friends ;)

My teacher had specific instructions not to read a head of the class. It took the first chapter for that to be thrown out the window. I was never hooked onto a story so fast. The dystopian world, the poverty of 12, and how Katniss went about things drew me in instantly.

The first book was finished in the next two days. Basically read it twice over as I did a re-run with it with my class. Finding Catching Fire & Mockingjay at the school library was a pain, so I had to resort to online books. 

I had the whole series read within the coming weeks. Everlark shot to the top of my OP list, and they have stayed there. There’s just something about them that makes me come back for more. I love them.

As far as the movies go, I’ve seen the first film over 30 times. Most of that due to the long wait in between it & Catching Fire. I remember this fandom gushing over casting news, leaked set photos, and everything else we got.

Best part about the movie timelines were everyone’s trailer reactions. Looking back, I wish I would’ve done one myself. But hey, Ballads is an opportunity? 

I’ve gotten a few of my family and friends into it, and I’ve lent out my books a time or two. Which is something I rarely do. 

Between the books, movies, fanfics, being a part of this fandom has been great. But the best part?

Meeting all of the wonderful people that are as passionate about this series as I am. Wouldn’t have met one of my best friends ( @archersandsunsets ) without it. I can’t wait to dive into Ballads with all of you.

Hope you enjoyed my journey into my love for The Hunger Games.

May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor! 

#thgstory #everlark #the hunger games

[themockingjaylivess]

My Hunger Games Story

I saw a prompt on @everlarkedalways page to share your Hunger Games story. Since I have been trying to write more and document my life, I thought I would share mine!

It started when I saw the trailer for THG. I had heard of the series before but I had never given much thought to reading it. I have this conviction that if a book is made into a movie, I have to read the book first and watch the movie after. It feels wrong to watch the movie then read the book (to me). Within the first 48 hours of me purchasing the first book, I had finished and was out buying the second two.

I was so consumed with the books I didn’t stop reading them even at school, even then I took them with me and read them between classes. I had never given books much thought before this so I had never read any book, never mind a series, so fast in my life.  

I quickly finished the series and still had some time before the movie and was looking for a community to join to discuss the books. That’s when I made my blog and joined the masses of people who were flocking here looking for the same thing. I was so excited to find people like me who obsessed over the books. When the movies came out it was even better. I am not super artistic, so being able to find other people’s posts to articulate my thoughts was very gratifying. THG used to be such a big part of my life, so much so that the first gift my boyfriend got me was a mockingjay wall hanging and my high school graduation cap was decorated with a mockingjay. 

Fast forward to now, where I am stuck inside due to quarantine. It’s been years since I’ve read the books or watched the movies. I found out that TBOSAS is coming out only a few days before its release. So I decided to re-read all the books and watch all the movies while I wait for the new book to come in. When I started reading, I decided I wouldn’t rush through the books, instead taking my time reading them so I could enjoy them. I just finished my re-read of Catching Fire and am now onto Mockingjay. I felt as though I needed to revive my blog again during this time.   

Although THG is my favorite book series, it is meaningful in my life in a different way. It was the first series I read, and it brought me here, which opened up my eyes to different YA novels/series. I was a teen when I first started reading these books, and they really took a part in shaping who I am today. These books brought me comfort and happiness in unsure times and made me feel like I was part of a bigger community. 

Anyways, that’s my story. Hope it isn’t too sappy :)

#my thg story #The Hunger Games #Personal #THGstory

[soafteritellhimreal]

My THG Story

July: Okay the year is 2011. I’m 3 months shy 17. The Harry Potter movie franchise just ended and I’m looking for something new to obsess over and I buy the hunger games as a remedy for post-Potter depression. Do I read the book? No. I suck.

November: the trailer for the movie dropped and I got chills. Who’s that cute guy with blonde hair? Omg it’s the boy from bridge to terabithia he got hot! Definitely gonna start reading this book. For sure. But I just started my junior year of high school a few months ago and I’m taking a difficult course load and I just. Don’t . Have . The. Time. Literally all I do Is sleep and study. Sometimes forget to eat.

December: my brother WHO NEVER READS is reading the hunger games. Boy actually went to a book store and bought it. Read it in a day and said it was “pretty good” not going to finish the trilogy but he’ll look up the ending in Wikipedia. For a guy who hates reading this is a 12 star review. I’m floored. Gotta fucking read this book now. But my grandma just got diagnosed with cancer and I had lost my other grandma the previous year and it looked like I was about to lose another. And school was killing me.

January: THats it this weekend is martin Luther king day it’s a three day weekend I’m reading this fucking book! And nothing is going to stop me!

And I did

And I read the next one

And the next one

A three day weekend filled with one book per day. 2 hours of sleep inbetween each book and one break for food in the wee hours of the morning between catching fire and mockingjay.

I was encapsulated by these books. I lifted my wet tear soaked face from the last book and realized that those 900 or so pages of storytelling was the most happy I’d been in months. I had been working myself to the bone in my classes and the one treat I gave myself made me realize I wasn’t enjoying my life at all.

I stopped going to school. I started going to therapy and taking meds. I got diagnosed with depression. I wanted to kill myself. I obsessively followed the movie news leading up to march 23rd and I discovered fanfiction. Everlark became my escape from the hell that was going on in my head. There were times I considered killing myself but stopped because I needed to stay alive to read one more fanfic and be there opening night for the next movies.

Flash forward to today: depression is still a huge part of my life and it’s thrown me off course multiple times. But I stubbornly survive it like a dandelion weed :)

#tried to keep it short and sweet #thgstory

[everlarkedalways]

Tell me all about your Hunger Games and Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes journey! I want to hear from you! Tag me or #THGstory and I’ll queue your story to reblog here! Old or new to the fandom, every one is welcome!

#the hunger games #thg #tbosas #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #songbirdsandsnakes #thgstory

[johnnysdaylight]

@thgstory

WAIT I LIKE THAT

[justajjfan]

I was asked by @everlarkedalways to post a short history of my Hunger Games journey. Hmmm...where to begin 🤔 Keep it short, Stella!

To be honest, social media was not my thing and I’d never heard of The Hunger Games or Fanfiction or even Tumblr for that matter. Real life and everything in between meant there was never a lot of time for just me.  

The same year my dad passed away, I was given a laptop for my birthday and basically stumbled onto a thing called YouTube (don’t laugh). During one of my late night searches, I kept seeing ‘Joshifer’ come up and when my curiosity could take no more, I clicked into it and soon discovered @idealfry ‘s blog. I started off as an anon at first and he was so nice and answered many of my silly questions about Joshifer.

I decided to start my own blog in 2015 (I think) but what to call myself? So after very little thought, justajjfan was born...ish. My first Tumblr friendship came with @bakerssmurf and we would spend many crazy different timezone hours chatting about Joshifer. She is one of the loveliest people on this planet and I will always value her friendship.

Now I’m going to shock a lot of people with what I have to say next but anywho...I was never much of a book reader (not at all, really) so instead, I started to listen to The Hunger Games Trilogy audio tapes at night which helped me out of my depression (which I didn’t realise I had) and relax my always over-thinking mind and that was really the turning point for me. Watching the movies came after and yeah, when MJ2 first came to the theatres here, I saw it 4 times (3 times on my own). I knew then I would be a ‘one fandom only’ person.

Learning about fanfiction came soon after and there I was again, checking things out. In front of my eyes was AO3 and a smorgasbord of Everlark fics and I just couldn’t get enough. My first fanfiction reading experience came with a story called The Kitty Ranch by another lovely person on this planet @dianaflynn22  (still waiting for that epilogue GF! 😊) . Whoa! It blew my mind. (Can you really write that kind of stuff?) YES YOU CAN!! 

I read stories from other writers for a year...maybe two and loved commenting on the stories I loved (and still do) to show my appreciation basically. That’s how I first met my dear friend and beta-extraordinaire @sunsetsrmydreams who also happens to be one of the loveliest people on this planet. I would have given up writing all together if it wasn’t for this sweet person.

Speaking of writing, that came next with the help and kind encouragement of yet another lovely person on this planet @thegirlfromoverthepond with Love in Panem - New Author’s Challenge (sorry, I don’t know why I can’t link this) with my very first story The Right One (it was very stressful but I’m glad I did it - apologies for the shameful plug btw).

I can’t finish my story without mentioning Toastcon - 2019. When I read there was going to be a gathering of Everlarkers, I had my bags packed with passport in hand and this was strange considering I’m actually an introvert. My family of course were worried it was all a big scam and I would be taking my life in my hands, plus it was a really looooong trip. So...I convinced hubby and one of my sons to come with me as bodyguards.

Let me just say, Toastcon has been one of my best life experiences and has been added to my ‘Stella’s Best Life Experiences’ list. Yes, it was overwhelming, daunting and nerve-racking but at the same time, meeting some of the people behind their url’s was amazing! I have so many fond memories, two of which still make me giggle when I think of them...I’m talking to you @lovely-tothe-bone and @winegirl65  (airports and petrol stations 😁). I found my new calling with archery and going to the site where part of The Hunger Games was filmed as well as seeing the Mellark Bakery was the biggest fangirling thrill for me. 

In short (not really), my journey here has been one of kindness, generosity and mutual admiration and I have a list of people from all over the world I truly respect and am blessed to have their friendship.

I love how everyone rallies around when one of us is feeling down or in need of a virtual hug or helping hand. I love having something in common with so many people. I love ‘liking’ and ‘reblogging’ those post I find funny or interesting (humour, food and fashion always draws my attention). And I love how you can chat with someone you haven’t spoken to for a while and just kick off from where you left off as if it was yesterday. 

Well, that’s it for me. I hope it wasn’t a boring read for you. Stay well, stay safe.

Everlark...ALWAYS! 💖

PS - My audio book for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes hasn’t arrived as yet so please...no spoilers. 

#THGstory #Stella's journey #...that took me most of the day to write #...now you know why it takes so long for me to update my WIP's