In the twenty-first chapter of Catching Fire, WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Catching Fire.
IS THIS LIKE A REFERENCE TO STEPHEN KING’S THE MIST OR SOMETHING? Oh my god, I am seriously so confused right now. So the fog BURNS SKIN. Isn’t Peeta kind of slow because of his collision with the force field? COLLINS, ARE YOU ABOUT TO KILL PEETA OFF? I fully believe she is prepared to do this at this point. THIS IS A COMPLIMENT. Also LOTS OF ALL CAPS.
Finnick snaps awake instantly, rising to counter an enemy. But when he sees the wall of fog, he tosses a still-sleeping Mags onto his back and takes off. Peeta is on his feet but not as alert. I grab his arm and begin to propel him through the jungle after Finnick.
So, I still don’t get this at all. Did the Gamemakers just add more stuff to the arena this time? Is it smaller in size than usual? It seems there are a lot more toxic and fatal traps this time around. Maybe they adapted the arena in recent weeks once they knew Katniss and Peeta were going in to make it much harder than anyone anticipated. It seems that’s the most logical conclusion to come to at this point: this arena is designed to increase the chance of Katpee’s death.
A terrible impulse to feel, to abandon Peeta and save myself, shoots through me. It would be so simple, to run full out, perhaps even to climb a tree above the fog line, which seems to top out at about forty feet. I remember how I did just this when the mutations appeared in the last Games. Took off and only thought of Peeta when I’d reached the Cornucopia. But this time, I trap my terror, push it down, and stay by his side. This time survival isn’t the goal. Peeta’s is. I think of the eyes glued to the television screens in the districts, seeing if I will run, as the Capitol wishes, or hold my ground.
It seems that this subplot, of Katniss relinquishing protection of herself to save Peeta, makes more sense now than it ever has before. I love the idea that this, in an of itself, is a grand statement to the Capitol as well. People expect her to “persevere†and stay alive, but choosing to keep someone else alive is her way of asserting her own choices over those of the Capitol.
Of course, that’s not really going to matter if Peeta is swallowed alive by poisonous fog. Right? And this isn’t looking good. Peeta is nowhere near as nimble as Katniss is and things get downright ugly when a knot of vines of some sort catch on him artificial leg.
As I help him up, I become aware of something scarier than the blisters, more debilitating than the burns. The left side of his face has sagged, as if every muscle in it has died. The lid droops, almost concealing his eye. His mouth twists in an odd angle toward the ground. “Peeta—“ I begin. And that’s when I feel the spasms run up my arm.
IT’S NOT FOG, IT’S SOME SORT OF NERVE GAS. Oh my jesus lord, this is terrible. Because now Katniss can’t even lead him properly away from the fog/mist. Finnick returns with Mags and tries to help carry Peeta too, but it’s just too much. They only get ten yards before Finnick asks Katniss to take Mags while he takes Peeta. And this is when Finnick continues to prove what a BAMF (although a confusing one, which I will get to in a second) he is.
Although my instinct is to run directly away from it, I realize Finnick is moving at a diagonal down the hill. He’s trying to keep a distance from the gas while steering us toward the water that surrounds the Cornucopia. Yes, water, I think as the acide droplets bore deeper into me. Now I’m so thankful I didn’t kill Finnick, because how would I have gotten Peeta out of here alive? So thankful to have someone else on my side, even if it’s only temporary.
Is Finnick fantastic and amazing and probably one of the best smaller characters Collins has introduced? Absolutely. Are his actions unbelievably confusing? YES. I don’t get this: why is he so willing to help both Peeta and Katniss? Forgive me for being cynical, but I feel like there’s a possible betrayal in Katpee’s future. I seriously don’t like this and I feel that in any other context, I’d be prone to trusting Finnick and believing this was genuine. But he knows that he’ll have to eventually kill Katpee, so why do all this now? To keep them from killing him?
But even then, this isn’t working in Finnick’s advantage. The fog begins to have adverse affects on him as well, and when Katniss collapses and can’t carry Mags, Finnick has to admit that he can’t carry him and Peeta at the same time.
What happens next is so fast, so senseless, I can’t even move to stop it. Mags hauls herself up, plants a kiss on Finnick’s lips, and then hobbles straight into the fog. Immediately, her body is seized by wild contortions and she falls to the ground in a horrible dance.
WHAT THE FUCK??!?!?!?!?!!?
I want to scream, but my throat is on fire. I take one futile step in her direction when I hear the cannon blast, know her heart has stopped, that she is dead. “Finnick?†I call out hoarsely, but he has already turned from the scene, already continued his retreat from the fog. Dragging my useless leg behind me, I stagger after him, having no idea what else to do.
MAGS, WHAT DID YOU JUST DO????? Did she seriously just kill herself to save the three of them? WHYYYYYYYYYYYY????
OH GOD. Mags was my favorite of this set of tributes. COLLINS, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE
Here’s what she’s done: written possibly the most harrowing scene yet, as we read about them stumbling and crawling from the jungle, their bodies falling apart as they move, and then this:
Maybe it’s my eyes playing tricks, or the moonlight, but the fog seems to be transforming. Yes, it’s becoming thicker, as if it has pressed up against a glass window and is being forced to condense. I squint harder and realize the fingers no longer protrude from it. In fact, it has stopped moving forward entirely. Like the other horrors I have witnessed in the arena, it has reached the end of its territory. Either that, or the Gamemakers have decided not to kill us just yet.
what the holy hell is going on. So now there are…boundaries? I’m inclined to believe that these aren’t set in stone and are, rather, something controlled by the Gamemakers. Why give the tributes boundaries that they can escape from? Now they (sort of) know where the fog comes from, so won’t they just…I don’t know. Stay out of it?
We lie there gasping, twitching, our minds and bodies invaded by poison. After a few minutes pass, Peeta vaguely gestures upward. “Mon-hees.†I look up and spot a pair of what I guess are monkeys. I have never seen a live monkey—there’s nothing like that in our woods at home. But I must have seen a picture, or one in the Games, because when I see the creatures, the same word comes to mind. I think these have orange fur, although that’s hard to tell, and are about half the size of a full-grown human. I take the monkeys for a good sign. Surely they would not hang around if the air was deadly.
UM, NO. KATNISS. YOU ARE IN THE ARENA. As soon as I got to this, I thought, OH NOETRY, THIS IS BAD. I doubt they exist as a food source to the tributes and everything the Gamemakers put in the arena is intentionally. So why just drop in some orangutans? I DON’T LIKE THIS.
What I do like is that our three tributes don’t melt to death when Katniss discovers that the salt water in the center of the arena acts as an agent to draw out poison from their bodies. As she and Peeta take the time to undress and soak in the water, this imagery made me laugh:
But Finnick backed away from the water at first touch and lies facedown on the sand, either unwilling or unable to purge himself.
Couldn’t help but laugh at this, folks. Facedown in the sand? How does he even breathe? I don’t know, the idea that he has just given up and doesn’t care about a mouthful of sand is seriously hilarious.
Seriously, though, I really adore the next scene because I don’t know if there has ever been one like it in the history of the Games. Katpee help Finnick detoxify, despite them being out in the open under moonlight, over the course of what seems like an hour. They drag him out to the water after slowly pouring it over him to see if he’ll go into shock or worse, and even stay with him while he detoxifies his head. The thing is, that makes sense for Katpee. It’s in their nature to help people and Katniss showed that she was willing to help people in the arena too. I’m still not sure why Finnick would help them out, though.
And then, of course, there’s Mags. I still don’t understand what happened there. Why he essentially abandoned her to carry Peeta. Why she not only didn’t question it, but ran straight to her death without a moment’s hesitation. Was it because she was so old that her days were numbered, anyway? Did they think that Finnick would stand a better chance of winning if he had Peeta and me as allies? The haggard look on Finnick’s face tells me that now is not the moment to ask.
I am trying to piece this all together and I feel that this is certainly something Collins wants us to pay attention to. Maybe Mags realized that this whole thing was absurd and that’s why she didn’t hesitate to walk into the fog. Hell, she still is straight not giving a fuck. Only now she’s dead. ::sadfaces::
After Finnick heals inside the salt water, enough to be able to swim around, him and Katniss head to Peeta, who is busy trying to make a hole in a tree for the spile. Aaaaaaaand I’m proved right about one of my hunches. (FINALLY.)
I touch Finnick’s arm and he follows my gaze upwards. I don’t know how they arrived so silently. Perhaps they didn’t. We’ve all been absorbed in restoring our bodies. During that time they’ve assembled. Not five or ten but scores of monkeys weigh down the limbs of the jungle trees. The pair we spotted when we first escaped the fog felt like a welcoming committee. This crew feels ominous.
SEE. THIS IS NOT GOOD. WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY DOING. Katniss warns Peeta that he should probably come to them, and quietly, so as not to alert them any more than they already have.
He’s just five yards from the beach when he senses them. His eyes dart up for a second, but it’s as if he’s triggered a bomb. The monkeys explode into a shrieking mass of orange fur and converge on him.
I LITERALLY CANNOT HANDLE THIS ANYMORE. This arena is more dangerous than any I’ve known from these books AND IT’S NOT BECAUSE OF ANY OF THE TRIBUTES. WHICH, BY THE WAY, WHERE ARE THEY. We haven’t heard or seen from another tribute in way too long. I cannot figure this out and it is frustrating me.
I’ve never seen any animal move so fast. They slide down the vines as if the things were greased. Leap impossible distances from tree to tree. Fangs bared, hackles raised, claws shooting out like switchblades. I may be unfamiliar with monkey, animals in nature don’t act like this. “Mutts!†I spit out as Finnick and I crash into the greenery.
OF COURSE THE GAMEMAKERS DESIGNED THEM. Oh hell, why does it seem there is just one threat to Peeta’s life after another? This is CHAOS. And seriously, Collins is so fantastic at writing scenes like this.
In the eerie light, I bring down monkey after monkey, targeting eyes and hearts and throats, so that each hit means a death. But still it wouldn’t be enough without Finnick spearing the beasts like fish and flinging them aside, Peeta slashing away with his knife. I feel claws on my leg, down my back, before someone takes out the attacker. The air grows heavy with trampled, the scent of blood, and the musty stink of the monkeys. Peeta and Finnick and I position ourselves in a triangle, a few yards apart, our backs to one another.
I wish she would do this more often, to actually show us what is going on, because she is really quite fantastic and providing us the details to build the scene in our heads. And this scene in particularly is so overwhelming that what happens next completely blindsides me. As Katniss runs out of arrows and asks for more from Peeta, one of the mutts takes the opportunity to leap at Peeta.
Weaponless, defenseless, I do the only thing I can think of. I run for Peeta, to knock him to the ground, to protect his body with mine, even though I know I won’t make it in time.
She does, though. Materializing, it seems, from thin air. One moment nowhere, the next reeling in front of Peeta. Already bloody, mouth opened in a high-pitched scream, pupils enlarged so her eyes seem like black holes.
The insane morphling from District 6 throws up her skeletal arms as if to embrace the monkey, and it sinks its fangs into her chest.
WHAT THE FUCLSDA FALFHASD AS;DFKHJ;KALSDFJ
ASD;FLASDHF;ASDLF AJKADLS;FK;LAJA
!@#$@^#%$% 23$ 321324 !1!!1#@$!
What the hell is going on???? That’s now TWO PEOPLE in one chapter who have sacrificed themselves to help Peeta or Katniss.
Oh my god, shit isn’t even real and yet shit is so goddamn real. Oh holy shit, guys.
I'm pretty sure everyone who read the book had the exact same first thoughts about the monkeys when they were introduced. Namely "Bless your naive little heart Katniss, but this is the fucking Hunger Games arena and the Gamemakers are sadistic fucks and the monkeys will turn out to be something very fucked up if we ever see them again."
Also: Poor Mags. At least she dies as she (presumably) lived: Not giving a shit.
At this point, we all are supposed to believe/know that Finnick has ulterior motives. Of course, telling you what they -are- will take away the chance to see how you react.
And of course, the general arena in this book is the most messed up thing ever. Left me wondering if things could get any worse.
I know this is splitting hairs, but I see Mags as living a life as a total Bad Ass, but it clearly meant something to her to run into the fog. Otherwise she wouldn't have kissed Finnick first, she would have just jumped up and ran away. Even her volunteering for the Games had to have meant something.
Or maybe I'm reading too much into her actions. At any rate, all I'm trying to say is that to me, she gave at least "A" shit.
"Mags: gave exactly one shit."
Best eulogy ever. One day I hope it is mine.
I don't know which is worse, the acid-nerve-killing fog or the muttated monkeys. Seriously, what have the Gamemakers done? And you can just tell that there are worse things around, the dread this book makes me feel is terrible. The fact that they haven't even heard the other tributes is pretty ominous. I think I read all these chapters with tightened muscles, I was one little ball of stress.
And what the hell did Mags do? Don't get me wrong, I loved her, and what she did was awesome, but WHYYY? And now the morphling too? WHAT IS GOING OOON?
I don't know which is worse, the acid-nerve-killing fog or the muttated monkeys. Seriously, what have the Gamemakers done? And you can just tell that there are worse things around, the dread this book makes me feel is terrible.
So much for the new Head Gamemaker been one of the good guys. SIGH.
Maybe the Head Gamemaker kept out even worse things. He couldn't just not put anything dangerous in the arena; that would be suspicious.
Okay, so here was where I was when I read this: I had started the final third of the book at about 11:00- on a school night, and there was no way I wasn't going to finish it then and there. But I had to hide the light in my room, so I was in a very awkward position as I read this INTENSE chapter.
I actually gasped when the morphling jumps out at Peeta. And then I got caught and sent to bed to ponder it = (
But then fifteen minutes later I just started reading againg = )
i wonder how many times the phrases “shit is real” and “so unprepared” have been used on this site . . hmm, the questions of life. (:
also, one more to the count, MARK YOU ARE SO UNPREPARED. LIKE YOU COULDN’T EVEN BEGIN TO GUESS WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN!
boy am i glad i stumbled across this site. (:
If you Google "holy fucking shit it's harry fucking potter" you get Mark Reads as the top two posts.
He's a whole lot hotter! </AVPS>
I got him as the top three!
Mark, dude, just gotta say your Reading/Watching schedule is seriously impressive. A chapter a day of each of reading Katpee and watching Doctor Who — PLUS a liveblog of AVPM and the brave and prodigious attempt to make a coherent read-along of Infinite Jest… you, sir, are DA MAN.
Thank you! Taking off weekends has actually freed up a lot more of my time to be consistent during the week!
I was really sad when I posted this the first time because I knew what would happen. I don't think there's anything to make a rage comic out of in this chapter but I'll keep thinking
http://i55.tinypic.com/55i5bt.png
Mags, you will be missed…
OMG WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?!? Was pretty much me while reading this. Siriusly, what the hell are the other tributes doing?!?! Well I guess we BETTER find out soon, or else.
Mags' death was horrible, and she just walked into it. She's still doesn't give a fuck, and was BADASS until the last moment. GOOD BYE MAGS I WILL MISS YOU AND YOUR BADASSERY, So much for making her the main character, sigh.
And Finnick, WHAT ARE YOU DOING LOVE?!?!?! WHAT. I hold into the idea that he's good and that he really wants to help KatPee and that he's some kind of badass rebel that was to fuck the Capitol up for good. I hold onto it, AND NOONE WILL MAKE ME CHANGE MY MIND *denial*
WHAT IS THAT ENDING. WHAT. OMG SHIT WILL GET EVEN REALER. OH NOES.
WHAT IS THAT ENDING. WHAT. OMG SHIT WILL GET EVEN REALER. OH NOES.
You've never said a truer thing, my friend 😉
Which, when we really think about it, is not a very good thing right? RIGHT??? D: D: D: D: D: Poor KatPee And Finnick. And Mark.
So much for making her the main character, sigh.
I mean, this is Suzanne Collins, so it's not TOTALLY out of the realm of possibility…?
What you don't know is that Mockingjay is about Mags and Cinna and all the other people who have died, and their attempts in the afterlife to save Katpee from the arena when they have to go in for a third time.Oooh, intriguing. And it totally works for me, because in my "Happy Land, Full of rainbows and denial" they all live Happy and Badass and Awesome forever and ever. That's totally how it is, and I won't hear otherwise. ETA: I forgot to mention that Lupin, Tonks, The Potters, Sirius, Fred, and pretty much everyone awesome that died on Harry Potter lives there too. And they do *magic* and are totally awesome.
And also, Hey dude spoilers, 😉 Though this spoilers are totally awesome 😀
I hate/fear monkeys already so this chapter didn't help. But good job Gamemakers for seeing monkeys as the homicidal maniacs they really are!
I hate them too! Especially the small ones, they totally creep me out!
YOU ARE SO UNPREPARED MARK.
I love Mags so much. I mean, she knows she's old. She knows that she doesn't have much time left anyway. That's why she volunteered in place of the younger woman who was actually picked from District 4. She went into the arena intending to die, but at least she got to choose the manner of her death to some extent. She was able to walk towards death and face it, saving other people's lives in the process instead of being killed purely for the Gamemakers entertainment.
but choosing to keep someone else alive is her way of asserting her own choices over those of the Capitol.
Exactly! I mean, that's what Peeta was doing in the first book. It was how he was maintaining what he called his purity of self.
oh mark, i love your new phrase "what the (key-smash)"
OH GOD MAGS. I was in the middle of a lecture when I read that and it took all my.energy to not bawl right then and there. Sadfaced forever.
Updated death toll, assuming the Morphling’s a goner. Katniss thought the monkey would have killed Peeta, so I don’t really see how she could be alive. If she’s alive in the next chapter, you have my humble apologies.
Also MAGS! Now they can’t be team Magick Katpee. But she died as she lived, not giving a flying damn. Finnick was more upset about her death then she was.
And I seriously have no idea how you read this one chapter at a time. Siriusly. You rock.
PS. My friend who reads this site but doesn’t comment says hi. And that she likes your keysmash.
[WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ‘0 which is not a hashcash value.
omigod 'magick' is so cute!
Magick Katpee = win! I may have gone for Magick Peenis, but that's just me
-ahem-
Magick Peenis.
*Giggle*
"Finnick was more upset about her death then she was."
xD LOL This is so true!
Death toll got deleted somehow. here it is again
<img src="http://i427.photobucket.com/albums/pp356/Sabelyn/Deathtoll-1.png">
I feeel you, Johanna~~
Do you think that walls can hide you?
Even now I'm at your window
Lying in the dark beside you
Buried sweetly in your yellow hair~~
Mind you, that'd probably get me killed by *this* Johanna
She would stick a knife in your stomach and laugh. While not wearing anything.
"some drunk" 😀
Well? He was. That's all the description we get, and the more description the more people know who the hell is dying.
Now its just Fatpee…
NOOO! MAGSSSS!!! 🙁 Why!? You were so awesome. And the name Magick Katpee had only been coined in the last review. Ick Katpee just doesn't have the same ring to it although it is still funny. Also NOOO!!! Morphling! What are you doing and how the hell did you pop out of nowhere? Why do people keep saving Peeta? That's twice Finnick. WHAT'S YOUR ANGLE??????????
Sidenote: since I was going through a Mark Reads weekend withdrawal I prepared a little something beforehand. I apologize in advance for my filthy mind. Mind you I read this chapter immediately after reading the last review so my mind was already filled with Finnick/Peeta.
Sentences that appeared dirty to me while I was reading:
"I squat down and she positions herself over my shoulder, the way she rides on Finnick."
What is wrong with me?
"I follow Finnick until he collapses on the ground, Peeta still on top of him."
When Katniss fell on top of those two my mind said threesome. : /
"Peeta rolls off Finnick, who turns over onto his back. We lie there gasping, twitching, our minds and bodies invaded by the poison."
And I guess by poison my mind thought threesome. Or maybe it was Finnick/Peeta with Katniss watching- there is most definitely something wrong with me. I don't know. Out of context these sentences are not right
"He just lies there, eyes shut, giving an occasional moan."
Ha, my favorite.
Maybe my problem was watching the Gantz anime. Too much nakedness and enormous breasts that first episode.
OT Anyone else want to watch the Gantz movie? I do, mainly because of the two leads, MatsuKen and Nino (shut up, let me fangirl it's been ages since I was into an asian movie/drama although that might be changing. Green Hornet. Jay Chou. Awesome. KATO FOREVER.) and the plot sounded pretty interesting. I also can't believe that it's playing in a theater near me- I actually started silent clapping when I saw the trailer, I was so excite. Although boo for it only being one night. And dubbed.
Another OT I watched the first LOTR movie for the first time ever last night.
SIOGNVKSPGNVK;AFCNFMLKCDMSM!!!!!!
What on Middle Earth have I been missing out on? Stupid school I want to watch the next movies.
!!!!
You HADN'T SEEN THEM BEFORE? Oh you poor person! You did watch the extended edition, right? Because, like, it's even better. (Don't worry, I'll at least refrain from insisting you watch all 30+ hours of special features stuff. XD)
I will never watch the theatrical releases again. Too much awesome in the extended editions.
THIS. i am ashamed to admit this, but i didn't own the trilogy until black friday, when i was able to buy all three for like 2 bucks each. but, since i've watched my best friend's (shortstack930 HOLLER) extended editions all the time, i knew what i was missing. it feels so strange without the additional scenes! at least now i own them, but it is a goal of mine to own all three extended editions for myself.
personally i enjoy the 30+ hours of special features stuff just as much as the movies themselves now. not sure if it's because i love new zealand accents, or because i love how much peter jackson loves lotr, or because the CG is just too awesome, but the extended edition stuff is my favorite :).
me TOO!!!! again. this this this. i find it so fascinating how the created the cg, the sounds, the music, everything.
edit to add that i also love when they are interviewing billy boyd and he's talking about how when they left it was his birthday, and then when they got there, "because of the time difference, it was my burrthdee agenn!" AHAHAHAH cough i am a loser.
if by loser you mean AWESOME then you are right. i love that part too 🙂 i thought it was so great that he was like, "so i thought, that guy looks like an elf… 'hey, are you orlando bloom?'".
'i love new zealand accents'.
Oh gosh, I've been doing a binge the last couple of weeks, and I watched Two Towers with the cast commentary on. Karl Urban's natural accent = amazing.
oh my god, the appendices are SO GREAT. They make me want to move to New Zealand and go into moviemaking. The way everyone working on the film is so passionate about what they're doing, and the way Peter Jackson tells them to make the films like they're making a historical documentary and all that stuff actually happened, and the level of detail in every aspect of the films, and the way they combined miniatures/actual sets with cgi/green screen in the most perfect ways imaginable… aflkja;jklkdlsf;afjklsfd I love those movies way too much. and I could watch the special features any day.
I am living in New Zealand and training to be in the film industry!
I'm here because I was born here but I'm training to be an animator because of my love for LOTR. (And Disney.) Those films really mean a lot to me.
I totally agree with you about the appendices, there is so much on those discs! Some very funny parts and some incredible insight into how the films were made.
That's so cool! I didn't know that was something you could even train for.
I know they're AMAZING!!!
We're watching all three movies in my mythology class, so that's probably what I'll be looking forward to in school tomorrow (even thought I've seen them like a gagillion times!)
Thanks for the dirty-mind filter BTW.
I will never be able to read that chapter the same way again.
And this chapter is the cause of my monkey phobia.
I can't look at orangutans without shuddering after this chapter.
but… the Librarian! from the Discworld!
He is awesome, but don't they once mention him tearing off someone's arms? And Offler help you if you mess with his books, or call him a monkey! He can be terrifying as well as super-cool. 😀
My boyfriend pronounces it "Orange-Uhton". And thanks to him, I do too. And I just can't take them seriously when I call them that.
I'm guessing the game makers figured the victors would have reservations about killing each other, so they put more dangers in the arena, to propel the action, in case the victors drag it out by being friendly to each other.
I hadn't thought of that, that's an excellent point.
DEAR GOD.
I just want to say the way you do your reviews are impeccable because I have not yet read one book of the Hunger Games but I feel like I have and debating whether or not reading them will feel like I'm doing it for the second time. Kudos.
Also I spent the last month reading all your reviews for every book (I now hold true hatred for Twilight and only read as much as I did in solidarity) I have finally caught up and it sucks because I don't have chapter after chapter at my disposal, I actually have to wait A WHOLE DAY to know what's going to happen next and it killllss.
Siriusly dude, you're awesome.
Team Magick Peenis FTW
Wouldn't you love to know how Mags won her Hunger Games? I bet that would make a great story! She's 80, the Games started 75 years ago, and the minimum age is 12, so she could have been in anywhere from Games #7 to #13. Wonder what those early games were like, when the Gamemakers were still working out the bugs.
Mags won her Game by training the giant sea horses in her arena to track down and destroy her competition. Then, she defeated the last tribute standing in a bare-knuckle, no-holds-barred slap fight, and took him out with an atomic wedgie that actually stopped time for twenty-five minutes.
That's why there have never been any sea horses in any arenas since.
Right and how many fucks did she still not give at that age?
FUCKING MONKEYS! This is why I hate them!
This chapter is like non-stop. Seriously so much happens in it and it's all good stuff!
Is Finnick fantastic and amazing and probably one of the best smaller characters Collins has introduced?
Yes. Why yes he is!!!!!
as for the rest of your review- I can't even comment. All I know if the first time I read this, I was literally pulling my hair out with stress! What a chapter!
What the hell is going on???? That’s now TWO PEOPLE in one chapter who have sacrificed themselves to help Peeta or Katniss.
No words. My head exploded at this point.
I do also wish I could add what I had going through my head at this point in the book when I first read it. I am afraid people will snark all over it for being spoilery. But it was honestly what I was thinking…… and at the time had no idea where the story was going.
My brain can't really cope with the wtfery of this chapter, therefore word vomit summary it is 😀
WHHHHHYYYYYYYYY MAGS DIE IN FOG FINNICK KISS SAD PEENIS WHAT WHAT WHAT AND MONKEYS
Mark, that is the best image you have ever posted on one of your reviews. Sreiously, it even tops the vomiting rainbow. Awesome .jpg is awesome!!!
RIP Mags, RIP morphling woman tribute.
All I can think of is the nerve gas in WW1 – this is so awful, and it reinforces my opinion that monkeys are evil and NOT FOR PETS. Ever.
<img src="http://remainsofthedesi.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/evil-monkey.jpg">
I agree completely! I have yet to hear a positive monkey pet story. They're all like, "my aunt had a monkey and it scratches her face and breaks her glasses, but she loooves that monkey. Also the monkey gets part of her children's inheritance, and there is a clause in the will that says that the children will lose part of their money if the monkey should die of suspicious causes." (That's actually a true monkey-pet story… Even I couldn't make up that kind of crazy.)
Mags
<img src=http://th255.photobucket.com/albums/hh136/AkikoSamaN/Probando%20progando%20xD/th_sharingyuibkk.gif>
That was so heartbreaking! She was just so awesome!
Finnick, what are you playing at? What is your strategy here? -is confused-
<img src=http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lbnekq5iex1qax1hd.gif>
Daren looks so adorable!!<3
Has anyone else noticed Mark's key smashes are all the letters from one row? Or am I the only idiot that would notice this.
I try to change it up, but years of proper typing has been cemented in my brain. KEEP FINGERS ON HOME ROW!
HA HA
I wasn't complaining- it was just a random I actually noticed. Keep going!
I NOTICED THIS TOO!!!!!!
Oh Mark. You just don't even know. And I don't think any of us did, at this point. NO ONE COULD POSSIBLY BE PREPARED.
the mist + mags' death = most horrifying moment in the series yet. including the scene where cato is killed by the pack of mutts in the last book and katpee have to listen to him being tortured all night long. THIS WAS SOMEHOW WORSE. i still can't get the image of her body jerking around out of my head.
Am I dumb if I didn't think that one monkey was bad? I thought, "yay, they have food!"
Okay… I think I have a theory… but it seems ridiculously farfetched… and I don't really knowHOW the hell this theory would work. But I dunno. I have a feeling I might be right… So if I think I'm right, do I still post it? If I am right that would ruin other peoples experiences that are also reading it along with Mark, wouldn't it? But then again my theories are NEVER right… what should I do?
Why isn't there a table with the remaining people??
ditto this!
<img src="http://i427.photobucket.com/albums/pp356/Sabelyn/Deathtoll-1.png">
Thank you! This helps a lot.
This chapter in particular was so confusing for me. WHY ARE THEY ALL TRYING TO HELP KATPEE? AREN'T THEY ALL ENEMIES IN THE END?!
The other tributes are all occupied in other parts of the snow globe of doom.
Oh, Mags. No. Why? Please. Endless tears. No. Come back.
What a BAMF she was. I wonder if she had children, grandchildren. Poor Finnick. He clearly cared about her. I don't want to talk about sad things anymore….
Katniss keeps losing her hair in these Games. First, fireballs. Now, poisonous nerve gas that acts like Nair.
Where did the District 6 female tribute come from? She clearly has some BAMF/ninja genes in her as well. No one saw her and she came charging in through a group of murderous monkeys. And I realize this is utterly ridiculous, but I imagine the morphlings to look like a variation of Smeagol from the LOTR movies.
On a happy note, this is Finnick (after Neville says "Ohmygod, I've killed Harry Potter" of course)
[youtube DB1cEPtmndY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB1cEPtmndY youtube]
<img src="http://images.wikia.com/pixar/images/c/cc/StretchedbyMonkeys-TS3.jpg" alt="THE MONKEYS" />
THE MONKEYS
Pixar knows our fears
Pixar should totally be in on the HG movies
great image! =)
When I first read this chapter, I thought that Mags and the Morphling sacrificed themselves for Katpee because they were the youngest victors in the arena. Also, Mags and Katniss spent time together in training, and so did Peeta and the Morphlings, which would give them another reason to save Katpee.
Well, and arguably, Mags sacrificed herself to save Finnick who was falling apart under the physical strain. So sad though. =(
That too. We all knew that Mags intended to die in that arena, no matter how much we didn't want it to be true. I think she only intended to survive until her death could spare somebody else's life. BAMF forever!!!
Maybe everyone is saving Peeta because they love Peeniss. Hehehe. But in all seriousness, I stand by my post of a secret victor conspiracy. They probably have a "plan" for the couple, like using them as a symbol to start a rebellion, or something. Maybe the capital people will see the victors saving their favorite celebrity couple and rise up. Something like the power of love conquering oppression. Which would fit in nicely to my earlier theory of how Peeniss was included and focused on in the first book because it was the catalyst that brought about change. Love = making babies = hope for the future = down with the evil bastards that are ruining our lives and killing our children! That is why it is so important for Capital kills of Peeniss now: they have become a symbol of hope for the future for EVERYONE, not just district 12. Peeniss love is what started the rebellious ball rolling down the hill, and the victors are probably trying to add to its momentum so that it can crush the Capital! At least, this is how I would write the book.
except they haven't announced anything about letting multiple people win this time
and I somehow doubt they'll make that mistake again
'Peeniss love is what started the rebellious ball rolling down the hill'
Just, excuse me a little snigger. I'm so grown-up!
Hello Mark,
Let me just tell you that the gas and the monkeys are child's play.
By which I mean, you are not prepared.
By which I mean you will never be prepared.
By which I mean, you ought to post more than once a day.
By which I mean you reviews are the best thing ever.
By which I mean Peeta's gonna die soon.*
So long.
*It seems that way, no? I mean let's see – zapped (ok, maybe that was his fault), gassed, monkey-ed, I mean, really, they can't protect him forever, right? I mean either Finnick'll kill him or Katniss will not be there.
It's not his fault that he got zapped! Blame the Gamemakers, they made it ridiculously easy to hit the force field. Peeta had a knife and was slashing away at vines. Not much of a deterrent. Haymitch had to use a BLOWTORCH to get through the edge/barrier thing to find his force field.
But I do get your point. Peeta's never had much luck in the staying out of trouble area. Even in the first Games, he was injured in many ways during the rumble at the Cornucopia, got stung by tracker jackers, stabbed by Cato, blood poisoning, knocked out by Katniss, choked, stabbed again maybe? (I forget why he needed the tourniquet), and then ultimately loses his leg. Yikes. Poor Peeta.
This is true. So, yeah, Gamemakers must go die in some deep pit filled with all the mutts in the world, in a force-field so they can't get out. With the fog and all the stuff I've forgotten.
Maybe this means something? Maybe it means nothing more can happen to Peeta?
{I remember using this logic in HPDH, when George lost his ear. I thought the twins were safe.
I was so wrong. :'( }
Blame the Gamemakers, they made it ridiculously easy to hit the force field. Peeta had a knife and was slashing away at vines. Not much of a deterrent. Haymitch had to use a BLOWTORCH to get through the edge/barrier thing to find his force field.
And in Haymitch's case, it really was just a barrier, wasn't it? Wouldn't cause any damage? But for Peeta it's really easy to get to AND it'll cook meat.
I am loving your reading/reviewing so much! And Mags was the most awesome character: it is amazing that I will still cry for her… and yet she wasn't even in the book that long, and we didn't get to know her nearly well enough. But she was wonderful and I loved her.
I've read this a few months ago and I still remember Mags saying that goodbye to Finnick before walking straight to her death without any hesitation.:(
asdflkjasdf, this is all so sad.
The monkeys confused me. This arena takes a while to visualize.
I'd say s*** is pretty real right now, but you still unprepared for when it gets REALLY-REALLY-REAL. 😮
I read this chapter a few days ago, so it's not really fresh on my memory. Judging from my notes, though, it looks like I was a little bit too distracted by the bad science going on with the nerve gas to fully appreciate the other action. I know it's par for the course, but the sudden cease of diffusion reminded me too much of a scene from the Old Kingdom series (for which the consistent explanation was 'magic'), and the salt water cure just seemed rather ridiculous.
I really wouldn't have minded a (sort of) deus ex machina here with sponsors giving the group an antidote. Collins could even have amped up the sob factor by giving them four doses, rubbing it in their faces that Mags just died. It could also give the group hope that they're popular with the crowd and/or take away hope that they're going to get help from sponsors with the killer monkeys.
Though I suppose I am glad that she steered away from the fact that nerve gases tend to cause loss of control of certain bodily functions.
I know what you mean. Collins is really good at suddenly throwing in ridiculous bad science/ill-fitting technology moments that just drag me right out of the story.
Anytime the capitol does what seems like magic, I just put it down to nanobots. The fog was actually made of nanobots that were programmed to stop at a certain area of the games. Obviously. 😉
<img src="http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m593/the_mauve_avenger/Catching%20Fire%20Tables/CatchingFireChapter21.jpg">
A few hours into the second day, I think?
didn't Finnick or Katniss shoot or stab Cashmere or Gloss? I feel like one of them died. I remember Brutus used his flotation device to block an arrow though.
And Gloss was shot.
Katniss shot Gloss in the calf with an arrow, but it wasn't fatal. As far as we know, he's not dead yet.
yeah I think both from one were offed in the first fight
I thought the first picture in the sky on the first night was the male from 5? Because they mention everyone from 1-4 has survived. I can't check, bc I had to take the book back to the library. :s
you're right, I just pulled it book up and 1-4 survived.
Didn't the first Morphling die in the first bloodbath? So by now they're both dead.
Technically the female morphling has just been bitten and hasn't died yet, although I think it's pretty safe to assume she won't survive. The male one did die at the Cornucopia. At least that's why I'm assuming she hasn't been crossed off yet.
yeah, I realized that after I already posted 🙂
Goodness….this chapter for me was..WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT COLLINS! My heart is suriusly lifeless!
So two tributes scarifice themselves for Katpee…gosh they must feel awful.
Finnick BAMF!
Because of this chapter I hate monkeys. GO DIE IN A BILLION FIRES!
Damn it, Mark.
I bought the Hunger Games trilogy two days ago because of these reviews. And now I'm about to start Mockingjay.
Damn your willful exposure of the masses to entertaining literature!
Ugh, this chapter. It was so good and unexpected. I also love/am confused by Finnick. I hope that the first movie does well so I can see his awesome self in the second movie. I EXPECT HIM TO BE PERFECT/GORGEOUS.
Also, RIP Mags. YOU ARE MY FAVORITE EVER.
I love that you're watching Doctor Who and reading the Hunger Games. TWO THINGS I LOVE.
This reminds me of "The Birds" except it's a bunch of jacked up monkeys.
Mark, you seriously need to stop nominating people for president. Nothing good ever happens to them!
Also, I have no clue how you're managing to read this only one chapter at a time. My friend just started reading the first book this weekend (he's borrowing my copies, so I can't read along with everyone anymore, but I've read them so many times that I pretty much don't have to) and he's having trouble putting it down just to go to work.
The Wicked Witch of the West could learn a few things form these hellish Gamemakers and their SWITCHBLADE MONKEYS.
Mags :(((((( I wish we could watch the videos of how these tributes survived their original year. I think Mags probably became more BAMF with age though.
You're right, of course. Shit isn't close to being real yet. Just you wait.
I didn't see the morphling* as 'sacrificing' herself. They've been portrayed as barely lucid so far, so the odds seem more in favor of "blundered into the right place at the right time in a drug-induced haze/hallucination" than "deliberately trying to keep Peeta alive."
* More "you are not allowed to name things ever" yelling at Collins: IT'S EITHER THE NAME OF THE DRUG OR THE NAME OF PEOPLE ADDICTED TO IT. USING THE SAME WORD FOR BOTH JUST MAKES YOU SOUND STUPID.
Oh God, this chapter
<img src="http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t104/lgirlx521/GIFs/tumblr_ld2chmOoHY1qduxfs.gif" border="0" alt="Scared Pictures, Images and Photos"/>
Now, lets have a moment of silence for the BAMFiest tribut in the games, Mags. What's even worse is that she dies horribly. The mist burns and it isn't quick, but she does it to save Katpee. The only question is whyyyyyy?
Also, this is how I imagine Finnick
<img src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t222/Celtic_Maiden/gifs/avpm-malfoyfallonground.gif" border="0" alt="avpm – malfoy fall on ground. Pictures, Images and Photos"/>
staring at this for minutes. AVPM!Draco. <3
One of my favorite Mags moments is when Katniss says the tributes had discussed what they might do for their talents before the gameskeepers. And, Mags decides her talent will be to take a nap. Love. Oh, Mags… peace out.
Post-dated thoughts:
"I REALLY WISH I COULD COME UP WITH SOMETHING TO SAY RIGHT NOW
BUT I CAN'T EVEN
I
JUST
CAN'T
HANDLE
THIS
FUCKERY
ANY
MORE
DSAKVMFKWMDOKKL;'SAFKL;MDASGKL;WAFK;'DGFDSOHK;AfKL;'FSAGKL;NDSHKLMFDSDSHJKLHSJK"
Also, it goes without saying, but as things that go without saying are most often said: MARK, YOU ARE NOT FUCKING PREPARED.
So this is entirely unrelated, but I had to share. I was just driving behind someone with the best bumper sticker ever. It said……
HORCRUXES GOT SOUL
MAGS, WHAT DID YOU JUST DO????? Did she seriously just kill herself to save the three of them? WHYYYYYYYYYYYY????
This is a happy book suitable for children of all ages.
OF COURSE THE GAMEMAKERS DESIGNED THEM.
OH MY GOD THE FUCKING MONKEYS I HATE THE GODDAMN MONKEYS.
-Have to say this is the one of the stranger bit in the books. Realize there are all these strange creatures in the books, but these monkey seem like one of the more dangerous things
-Least they have the water to take away the toxin.
-Wonder if Mags was one of the few to actually kill herself in the games or if there were others that found that a better choice than try to fight?
-What do you think of the end of this bit? Did she do it to try to aid Katniss and the gang or had something gone on to make her go crazy ?
Hee. I grabbed our copy of Catching Fire last night and skimmed through the last couple chapters. YOU ARE SO NOT PREPARED. And then there is Mockingjay.
I love this book. It keeps you guessing the entire time. Although I think by this point I had pretty well guessed why everyone was being so friendly. Still plenty to be afraid of here, with the monkeys and the gas and all kinds of other nonsense. It just makes you wonder… what else do the Gamemakers have up their sleeves?
Aw, Mags. We absolutely didn't get enough of you, and it's a tragedy because YOU WERE SO BAMF. I bet her Games were even more badass than Haymitch's, and that's saying something. FISHHOOKS. WE KNOW THEY WERE INVOLVED (also, napping?).
But my imagination is not awesome enough to figure out what she would have made the fishhooks out of.Collins, you make me sad. 🙁 Mark, do yourself a favor and quit nominating awesome characters for president, okay?Ugh, the monkeys, the monkeys. I am never going to be able to go to a zoo again without having these disturbing images pop up. Katniss, you're so sure Finnick is going to turn around and murder you any chance he gets, plus you just almost died from the awful fog. HOW ABOUT SHOWING SOME CONCERN ABOUT THE LURKING EVIL MONKEYS AS WELL, HUH?
ohmark. I wish i could see your face when you read this. (Wait, that sounds creepy, I'll start again:)
…………………………………….
love you man
At least she hasn't (yet) named the monkeys as gorilla guerrillas or butcher baboons or something. (I take it as a good sign that I can't think of anything to describe them without thinking my suggestions are completely ridiculous).
mags. D*:
Mags is dead now!? Oh man, we're going to be left alone with Katniss and Peeta again, aren't we? Farewell, pirate crew fantasy! :'(
I have no idea why you think Peeta can die though; the dude seems to escape all manner of peril without even trying. And now, with guys popping out of nowhere to save him, his continued survival is getting absurd.
But there is still hope! Kaybee42, I implore you! Cast aside your fears and post a suggestion to put my plot worries at ease! No,no––if people get angry, you can just say: "But Brad made me!" 😉
The thing about Finnick and EVERYONE ELSE EVER is that we're seeing him and them through the Katniss filter. I remember when you used to comment on how paranoid Katniss is, and now you're embracing her mindset. You ARE hooked! <3
Dude, as per usual, completely blown away by your ability to do this one chapter at a time, but after that one, a little rest might be necessary! Stuff just needs to stop happening…for a second?
Mags 🙁
Mag’s death, I see it a bit differently than the rest of you. At the Quell announcement, Mags knew she was Dead Woman Walking. She is a Victor, I know that she wanted to make her death a final Moment, a statement, one last act of BAMFery. She envisioned taking a knife in the back for Finnick, or leaping in front of Peeta. Going out in a big way. Instead she is a burden, no chance of honor or glory, just a wasted death. Just a wasted death. Oh, Collins how could you do that? And Oh My God so REAL
Okay now you've made me cry all over again. WHY?! WHY LILYGIRL? WHY COLLINS??!?! WHYYYYYYYY?!
I thought I should mention that I REALLY want Peeta to die! It sounds cruel but I think I would love to see Katniss deal with that. But not in the games- I would have preferred Haymitch to have been the male victor for the games, Katniss to win this game and Peeta STILL managing to die in the next book. (dear god I hope the next book isn't about ANOTHER game). But still, that can't happen now so I am waiting to see Peeta die. (I love him, btw, I will just be so impressed if Collins actually does kill him).
Also, does anyone else feel like there isn't enough book left for the games? I dunno I'm just worried it will be all rushed.. maybe it will continue till the start of the next book?
<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3lVOb8wvDlE/TSIJHv4oSlI/AAAAAAAAA2o/_Z8zpgPa24k/10nant.gif">
RIP, Mags. You were such a badass old lady. I had forgotten that she goes out so early in the Games, though.
I tend to forget the deaths of a lot of characters, like Fred's and Lupin's, etc.
I live in denialville, clearly.
http://freeflyer246.blogspot.com/
Hey everyone! My friend is doing what Mark here is doing for the FIRST TIME! She doesn't have a lot of followers right now and is working really hard on her review so go check her out!!!
Mags death was awful. I feel like it was just so pointless as well.
WHAT THE CRAP IS HAPPENING?! OH GOD
This is why I felt so bad for you Mark. You seem to get so attached to the ones that die, hehe. This moment for me was LEGIT WTF IS GOING ON??? I mean, I kinda had been doing that since I started reading the books, but that moment with Mags just confused the hell out of me. Why did she sacrifice herself when Finnick said he couldn't carry her and Peeta? Why didn't Finnick even question it? And why did that District 6 tribute do the same thing??
WE TOLD YOU YOU ARE NOT PREPARED! I finished these books months ago and I'm STILL not prepared! Haha.
WHAT IS THIS.
I DO NOT REMEMBER THAT MORPHLING CHICK SACRIFICING HERSELF.
AHHH. I AM SO CONFUSED.
My immediate post-chapter 21 thoughts:
Okay, so I guess Mags didn’t have an ulterior motive. She just wanted to help K&P. And we’ll never find out if she was a Career or not. But Finnick! Chose. Peeta. Again. Why???
Nerve toxin the gas that can be drawn out by salt water? Capitol technology is pretty amazing. Too bad it seems like they only ever bother to use technology for the Games.
Now scary monkeys! What the heck? This year seems to be more “Tributes vs the Arena” rather than “tributes vs tributes”.
And.
Now District 6 is saving Peeta? WHAAAAA? What is it with Peeta????
Was Mags' stunt with the nerve gas legal? Several fanfics I read had tributes contemplating suicide but realizing that their families and friends would probably be punished if they did it too obviously. Because even that is an act of rebellion, refusing to play the Games as the Gamemakers intended.
So why just drop in some orangutans?
Actually, I imagined the monkeys to look like this:
<img src="http://hdwallpapers.lt/user-content/uploads/wall/o/94/Rare_Monkeys.jpg">
but more deadly of course.
This arena is more dangerous than any I've known from those books AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE OF ANY OF THE TRIBUTES. WHICH, BY THE WAY, WHERE ARE THEY.
Obviously, trying to avoid being killed by the arena like Katpee and friends here. Except for Johanna who's having naked time.
Ugh so I have no idea why but the whole time I was reading the monkey fight scene, I had serious deja vu like I've seen all of this before but that can't be right. Anywho, why didn't Katniss just run up and grab the arrows from the quiver? Beats distracting Peeta, and did the tributes make some kind of pact to protect Katpee at the cost of their own lives? So many questions!