Morphling dulls the extremes of all emotions, so instead of a stab of sorrow, I merely feel emptiness. […] Unfortunately, there’s not enough of the drug left in my veins for me to ignore the pain in the left side of my body.

Again, and I want you to listen closely, you are on the wrong drugs.  It is not the point of painkillers to dull emotions first and pain second.  Does this book just have some sort vendetta against painkillers?  Is it under the delusion that opiate addition and opiates-used-properly are the same thing?  Or is it simply a handy excuse to avoid writing about emotions?  Again.  c\~/

When [Johanna] grins at my discomfort, I know we’re not in for some warm reunion scene.

Oh, I’m sorry, were you under the impression that you were entitled to some sort of ‘warm’ reunion?  Why?  You’ve been nothing but a snot to the woman since you two met, you haven’t cared a whit about her this entire book, and even her rescue was just a side effect to your pitching a fit over Peeta.  Are you surprised that she’s not fawning over you?

Of course you are, because when have you ever had to actually do something nice in order to get adoration from every ‘good’ guy in the book?

At least twenty times a session [the psychiatrist] reminds me that I’m totally safe.” I manage a smile. It’s a truly stupid thing to say, especially to a victor. As if such a state of being ever existed, anywhere, for anyone.

On the one hand, I’ll give a pass to these two characters, because it’s common to have this attitude at the beginning of receiving psychiatric care.  On the other hand, this is the last word we get from the book on the subject, and that’s complete bullshit.  Even if it sounds sappy and ridiculous, that is exactly what people need to hear, because fucking yes there is such a thing as safe when compared to being fucking tortured you fucking idiots.  I wouldn’t mind the characters delivering this line so much if it weren’t being presented as some ultimate truth, which just serves to undercut the value – the necessity – of mental health services.  Also, I want to slap Katniss every time she plays off like her life is set at some uniform danger setting.  Guess what, Princess, turns out there actually is a difference between being actively under fire and being ensconced in a hospital in a secure bunker.

This, right here, is a prime example of why people need to be reassured that they are safe.  Because it may sound stupid the first dozen times, but that doesn’t make it actually wrong, and eventually that message should sink in.

You know what I think the worst part is?  A lot of what goes on with mental health, examples like this “you’re safe” line, really do sound cheesy and corny to a person who doesn’t need them.  Like, say, to an author who’s safe at her home sitting in front of a computer.  They sound fluffy and pointless to you, but you’re not someone who just got out of a torture chamber, and someone who really did just go through all that shit is going to have a different mindset and different needs and a different frame of reference for processing statements like that and they actually need mental health services, so congratu-fucking-lations on being safe, book, how about not crapping on everyone who isn’t?

In MASH, in too many episodes to count, they get in frightened casualties all the time, people who are so hyped up on adrenaline and fear and pain that they can’t full tell what’s going on around them.  They end up attacking the doctors and nurses, people who are trying to help, simply because they don’t realize that it’s safe.  They have to be told these things, because they’re scared and confused, and sometimes even telling them doesn’t calm them down.  (Although giving them morphine in that case makes more sense; it’s a very temporary solution meant only to get them into OR.)

The impact ruptured your spleen. They couldn’t repair it.” She gives a dismissive wave of her hand. “Don’t worry, you don’t need one. And if you did, they’d find you one, wouldn’t they? It’s everybody’s job to keep you alive.”

“Is that why you hate me?” I ask.

“Partly,” she admits.

It’s certainly high on my list. \~/

“Jealousy is certainly involved. I also think you’re a little hard to swallow. With your tacky romantic drama and your defender-of-the-helpless act. Only it isn’t an act, which makes you more unbearable. Please feel free to take this personally.”

I’m torn between HELLS TO THE YEAH and wait-what?  We’ve been in her head.  It’s not necessarily an act, but it’s sure as hell not genuine.  She doesn’t give a fuck about anyone; it’s more like she figured she had nothing better to do and as long as she could get something out of it, why not, at least it’ll make everyone shut up.

Also, the inclusion of “jealousy” really grinds my gears.  Why does everyone who tries to display/take pot-shots at the ‘mean girl’ type play the jealousy card?  You know what, I hate to tell you this, but the pretty, popular girl in high school who snubbed you probably wasn’t doing it because was jealous.  And even if telling yourself that makes you sleep better at night, stop it.  Use your insomnia to read self-help books, or research local therapists so you turn into a self-entitled jerk like Katniss.

“Katniss, what difference is there, really, between crushing our enemy in a mine or blowing them out of the sky with one of Beetee’s arrows? The result is the same.”

Gale!  My love!  Let’s run away together!

“Yes, and those hoverplanes came from District Two,” he says. “So, by taking them out, we prevented further attacks.”

“But that kind of thinking … you could turn it into an argument for killing anyone at any time. You could justify sending kids into the Hunger Games to prevent the districts from getting out of line,” I say.

No, you can’t.

You can’t because you tried in the first book and it didn’t work then, either.

Gale has a point in saying that the Nut was directly contributing to the enemies war effort.  There is a reason we classify shit like that as an acceptable target in the Geneva Conventions.  Because it’s part of the war. 

Have you ever heard of the “slippery slope”?  It’s a logical fallacy.  Next time you hear someone using that as a justification, slap them.  (Figuratively.)  There is almost always no evidence that one event will actually lead to another, no reason why we can’t set limits and evaluate each step of a course of action to decide whether or not to take it.  In fact, we do that, which is how we got the Geneva Conventions, which details what counts as a lawful target during warfare.  We actually are capable of sitting down and saying “okay, the factory that makes bomber planes is a viable target, but randomly killing a bunch of kids isn’t.”  Shocking, I know.

Now that District 2 has allied with us, the rebels are taking a breather from the war to regroup.

God you people are stupid.  You’ve just cut off the capitol from everything they need to function, leaving them with whatever stockpiles they’ve laid in for emergencies, assuming they’ve done that at all.  Either you settle in for a siege or you run in and finish them off, because this is the point at which they’re going to launch a do-or-die.  It’s the only option they have left.  \~/

completely cut off from outside help as it holds the threat of nuclear attack over its enemies.

OH YEAH AND THEY HAVE NUKES, COGRATUALATIONS, YOU’RE GIVING THEM PLENTY OF TIME TO THINK THAT A SUICIDE RUN MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA, YOU ASSHOLES.  YOU DON’T BACK SOMEONE INTO A CORNER AND THEY SAY “STAY THERE FOR A FEW WEEKS AND HOLD ONTO YOUR FUCKING NUCLEAR WEAPONS THAT I’M SURE YOU’RE NOT GOING TO USE FOR SOME REASON.” \~/

The writer was saying that in return for full bellies and entertainment, his people had given up their political responsibilities and therefore their power.

Book, please, I’m begging you…

TELL ME WHAT POWER THE CAPITOL CITIZENS HAVE.  You have consistently failed on this point, and now you’re actually talking about it.  The bread and circuses of the poem they’re talking about were describing the way that the people who should be running the country had turned away from civic duty and taken up cheap entertainment instead.  The whole point of it is that these distracted people aren’t doing their job, thus allowing a few people to manipulate them.  The whole idea falls apart if the distracted class doesn’t have a base of power to be distracted from.  What power does the average capitol citizen have?

And was the country named after this phrase?  Because it’s universally considered a bad thing, so why would you even do that?

“We have the food and I’m about to orchestrate an entertainment propo that’s sure to be popular. After all, everybody loves a wedding.”

Of course, the book doesn’t seem to realize that “bread and circuses” is considered a criticism, but let’s be honest, who here is surprised?

But even a quiet celebration causes a stir in 13, where they seem to have no holidays at all. When it’s announced that children are wanted to sing District 4’s wedding song, practically every kid shows up. There’s no shortage of volunteers to help make decorations. In the dining hall, people chat excitedly about the event.

If it’s a thing that people obviously want, then why isn’t it part of their culture?  These are not the sort of things you can actually excise from a population, because people need stress relief, and they will get it whether you let them or not.  They’ll get it with a party or with a coup, but they’ll get it.

She laughs at odd places in the conversation or drops out of it distractedly. Those green eyes fixate on a point with such intensity that you find yourself trying to make out what she sees in the empty air. Sometimes, for no reason, she presses both her hands over her ears as if to block out a painful sound.

You know what’s missing from this account of Annie’s mental health?  Any and all word on her level of competency.  Can she make decisions?  Can she process information?  When she says anything, does it make sense?  Is it relevant?  Does she talk at all?  Is she rational?  Can she problem solve?

Fuck it, this book has no fucks to give, Annie’s just a female love interest after all.  Talk?  She doesn’t need to fucking talk, she’s got no actual purpose besides getting married.  Decisions?  Psh, why would a woman need to make decisions?  It’s not like she needs to function on any practical level, she just needs to be pretty and annoying in only quirky and clean ways.

Because this book is feminist and don’t you forget it!

All right, she’s strange, but if Finnick loves her, that’s good enough for me.

… and if Finnick didn’t love her you’d, what, declare her broken and useless?

The boy I last saw, screaming his head off, trying to tear free of his restraints, could never have made this. Never have had the focus, kept his hands steady, designed something so perfect for Finnick and Annie.

Bullshit.  The last time we saw Peeta, he was perfectly calm and lucid about everything not-Katniss.  But don’t tell Katniss that; according to her, she’s the only thing that matters.  That’s why if Petta loses his head over her, then he must be completely 100% useless, because it’s not like anyone could have feelings that aren’t centered on her, ya know?

I wrote Peeta off in 2. Then I was to go to the Capitol, kill Snow, and get taken out myself.

Her boyfriend stopped loving her, so she planned to commit suicide.

I’m going repeat that, because it bears repeating.

Her boyfriend stopped loving her, so she planned to commit suicide.

And we hold her up as a role model for young women.  Thousands of people put this book in the hands of impressionable girls and said “man, isn’t she great?”

“I don’t know what to think when they show me some of the tapes. In that first arena, it looked like you tried to kill me with those tracker jackers.”

“I was trying to kill all of you,” I say. “You had me treed.”

“Later, there’s a lot of kissing. Didn’t seem very genuine on your part. Did you like kissing me?” he asks.

So…I’m confused.  She was trying to kill them and Peeta knew the kissing was a farce.  The capitol didn’t have to trick him into things that he already knew, so why is he playing off like this is confusing.  Is the book trying to tell me that he thought something different at any point?  \~/

“And it was okay with both of us? You kissing the other?” he asks.

“No. It wasn’t okay with either of you. But I wasn’t asking your permission,” I tell him.

Peeta laughs again, coldly, dismissively. “Well, you’re a piece of work, aren’t you?”

This book is feminist, and don’t you forget it!

It’s bad enough that she kept saying ‘no, focus on not dying’ and they both kept pressing for relationships anyway, but now the book is daring to shame her not picking one or the other.

Oh, and it’s not just Peeta.

Finally, he can see me for who I really am. Violent. Distrustful. Manipulative. Deadly.

She’s branded as manipulative for her troubles, for daring to kiss two boys at the same time.  When, in fact, she never manipulated either boy.  (She sure as shit tried with other people, but that wasn’t brought up in this conversation.)  In fact, one of the few good things about this entire love triangle mess is that there’s a marked lack of secret-keeping.  All sides of the triangle always know what’s going on and where they stand, and the only thing preventing resolution is the fact that Katniss is too busy and/or disinterested to bother with it.  And that is not manipulation.

Drink for all the rest of the adjectives, though.  Peeta hit those on the nose.  \~/  Naturally Katniss will never change in any way.

Episode of MASH you should be watching instead: Margaret’s Marriage