Katniss Everdeen, District 12

"We're making a move,

We're making it now,

We're coming out of the side-lines."

Pulp, Mis-Shapes


Katniss Everdeen was the Mockingjay.

Never mind the woman from District 1 who betrayed her entire district because she knew that what the Capitol did to her body wasn't right.

Or the mother from District 2 who raised a rebel boy by accident and followed him down the path of giving up one's life for freedom.

Never mind the girl from District 3 who actually meant to defy Seneca Crane when she gave him the middle finger over her district partner's dead body.

Or the man from District 4 who sold his body for a million dark secrets and kept them fresh in his mind, waiting for the right moment to let all the dirt spill out and wash away in the tide.

Never mind the grandfather from District 5 who set aside what he'd believed in for a lifetime to save people drowning in a flood.

Or the woman from District 6 who got two morphling addicts hooked on rebellion.

Never mind the father from District 7 who forced himself into the room where he'd watched his son die so he could take down the Capitol and, hopefully, save a friend who'd never had a proper father.

Or the orphan from District 8 who spoke of rebellion before anyone was ready to listen, until he was silenced forever and the rebellion made him their martyr.

Never mind the joker from District 9 who saw a rebellion unfold under his nose and, realising that it was something to be taken seriously, left it alone.

Or the boy from District 10 who gave his heart to a doomed boy in the hope that he could save them both from the Capitol.

Never mind the woman from District 11 who was ready to be a monster for the rebellion, despite a lifetime of trying to be better.

Or the mastermind, the man behind the curtain from District 12, who moved all the players into position for the perfect game of strategy, the perfect rebellion.

Never mind all the people of the Capitol who gave up a lifetime of luxury to help those in need.

Or all the ordinary district people and soldiers who took up arms, who fought for what they believed in.

Who gave their lives.

Never mind all the other people who made a difference.

Katniss Everdeen was the Mockingjay.

Everyone else will be forgotten but the Girl on Fire will always be remembered.


I wanted to keep things short for Katniss because we all know her story. I think that one of the things that I like the least about the Hunger Games trilogy is that Katniss - and District 12 as a whole - is always the centre of attention. Maybe I just have an irrational hatred for protagonists. I don't like the thought of there being just a single chosen one, since so many other characters like Haymitch and Finnick were absolutely vital to the rebellion.

So this chapter is a tribute to all the people who Katniss upstaged, all the people who would've willingly become the Mockingjay but never got the chance (plus a few extra victors like Derrick and Manel who didn't really help the rebellion much but I added in because wanted to include every district). The rebellion may have been built around Katniss but there were people working behind the scenes who she never even realised existed so I just wanted to give them a chapter in the limelight.

We're almost done. It's just Peeta to go. I'm expecting his chapter to be quite long. Again, he won't get much focus, since he had an entire trilogy, but I've got a cool plan for a finale that he ties into.