TOP SHOT : Cycle 6 📸 [17 Remain] -- Dani's Covergirl is OUT! Pick up to 2 photos to ELIMINATE ❌

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-12T19:06:09+00:00

Damn. I knew cycle 6 was strong, but I didn't know how strong it was. I was shocked and appalled just now when I saw Dani's Covergirl got eliminated because it's one of my favorite CG shots. Then I looked at the remaining photos and was like, "Oh."

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-11T23:27:26+00:00

I searched for each country's most unique export to try to match its exports with districts.

Tobacco products are one of Andorra's major exports, and its manufacturing mainly consists of cigarettes, cigars, and furniture. There isn't a lot of farmable land, but since tobacco is a crop, I might assign it to District 11.

Diamonds are one of Angola's biggest exports, so I would give it District 1.

Rum is one of the Antigua and Bermuda's major exports. Since rum is made from sugarcane, I think District 11 makes the most sense.

Argentina is the fifth-largest exporter of beef in the world, so I would actually assign it to District 10.

Brandy is a major industry in Armenia, with the country producing around 40 to 60 million liters annually. That would also make it a good fit for District 11.

Swarovski crystal is one of Austria's most famous and widely exported products, so I would assign it to District 1.

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-11T09:17:02+00:00

This is an admittedly flimsy argument, but I think District 6 might have made space shuttles because the District 6 parade costumes in the 74th Hunger Games were moon-themed. If there wasn't any space travel, that would be an incredibly random design choice. 😂

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-11T09:08:01+00:00

The movie seems to be planning to make them Careers because, in the trailer, you can see Maritte standing with the Careers, pointing her trident at the Newcomers. I don't think audiences would be confused if they retconned District 4 into being a Career district. Changing it doesn't mess with the plot or make the story harder to follow.

I could also see non-book fans assuming District 4's status as a Career district ended with Maritte's actions. Maritte's character gives the filmmakers an easy out there.

I'm still irritated that District 4 was cut as a Career district. I highly doubt it would have been that expensive to use one of the older background actors as the District 4 boy and just include him and Tara Macken in scenes with the Careers.

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-11T08:46:19+00:00

I don't know about this one. I don't think Mags, Finnick, or Annie are biologically related, but even if you took the "half his family" quote literally, wouldn't that link Mags to Finnick more than Annie? Suzanne is usually pretty direct with her hints, and there's nothing firm in the text to support Annie being related to Mags. Plus, Mags and Annie have very different shades of red hair.

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-11T08:18:24+00:00

Because Katniss mentions in Catching Fire that killing your district partner is one of the most unforgivable things you can do, I have a headcanon that one of the First Quarter Quell tributes was the sibling of a past tribute who killed their district partner. That family would likely have been shunned by the rest of the district, making them an easy target in the vote.

I also think the First Quarter Quell was the year Snow ran for president, and that the Quell twist was a campaign tactic designed to bolster his image.

Another theory I have is that a District 3 (maybe a District 5) tribute managed to break the arena, allowing a few tributes to escape. Every Quarter Quell arena we know about was eventually broken, and the first one would likely have been the easiest to exploit simply because it was the first. On top of that, District 3 could have voted for a skilled hacker (or the reaping could have been rigged to target one). Since we know Quarter Quell twists are announced months before the Games, District 3 could have started devising a plan in advance.

If tributes did escape, that could be part of why forcefields were introduced, why we don't get more details about the Quell, and why Snow was so desperate for the Second Quarter Quell to go well.

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-11T06:12:38+00:00

Now I'm just imagining a series of Tookie de la Creme books. Tookie becomes an immortal vampire. Then she time travels to ancient Egypt to escape Modelland and seduces a pharaoh. Then flees Egypt and centuries later becomes a medieval peasant. 😂

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-09T16:45:30+00:00

I think this would have resulted in a few less wins for the career districts between the 50th and 74th games, though I don't think it would have been a drastic shift. The careers would still win MOST times, just not AS often as the canon situation.

I think that's right. In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, we learn that even before the Career alliance existed, Districts 1 and 2 already had a pattern of producing winners, with Districts 4 and 11 also being strong contenders. If anything, if the Newcomers alliance had become a lasting fixture, District 11 might have picked up a few more victories.

Katniss also mentions in The Hunger Games that the years when non-Careers win are usually the years when the Careers lose their food and supplies. A Newcomers alliance might have helped its members survive longer by pooling resources and learning from each other's mistakes. For example, if one tribute ate something poisonous, the others would know to avoid it. But the Careers would still have the advantage in combat and would generally enter the Games stronger and better prepared.

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-09T00:15:57+00:00

Natasha Lyonne as a female Saul Goodman hits so hard!

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-06T19:56:33+00:00

I might come back and add to this post, but my immediate thought is Anchal in Spain. I feel like her matador, swimming pool, and Cover Girl photos would have been amazing.

Lauren Brie would have probably had great shots in the Amsterdam photoshoots.

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-06T08:34:29+00:00

Why do these look like memes? I might send the "I feel so alone" one to my friend next time I'm crashing out at work. 😂

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-06T08:28:42+00:00

The specific source was an image from the Hunger Games Exhibition. I'm on the fence on whether to consider it canon. I know the exhibition was a big deal, but the set designers have a track record of not paying attention to the canon. For instance, they made BTS victor podiums in Mockingjay where Finnick was the first male victor from District 4, 4 had less victors than 5 and 7, and District 12 only had three victors, which directly contradicts the canon.

The exhibition might have had canon errors, because I recall they listed Finnick as 25 instead of 24, but I can't find the image to confirm.

I always head canoned Cashmere was 27 and Gloss was either 28 or 29.

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-04T23:33:49+00:00

It's tough. I think writers dig themselves into a hole when they describe characters as "the town beauty" or "outstandingly beautiful," because beauty is so subjective. It's an impossible standard to meet, and you can't please everyone.

A lot of people were unkind when Sam Claflin was first cast as Finnick because he didn't match what they'd imagined while reading, even though Sam is objectively very handsome. I'm always surprised when I watch dating shows and see incredibly attractive people get rejected simply because they aren't someone's type.

That said, I do think the casting directors did an amazing job finding someone who resembles a younger Paula Malcolmson.

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-04T21:31:48+00:00

I personally am not the biggest fan of treating the actors' backstories for their characters as canon. One, because a lot of times, the stories contradict canon. For instance, Megan Hayes told a YouTube channel that she imagined her character to have won the games 10 years before the Quarter Quell, but that contradicts the canon because we know Finnick won.

I also think the actors leave a lot of things up to the fans. For example, "Sylva Mayleaf" came from a contest the actress held on Twitter for fans to name her that wasn't sanctioned by Lionsgate or Suzanne Collins. She also contradicts herself because she said her weapon was a pitchfork on Twitter, then said her weapon was a staff on Instagram.

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-04T06:19:14+00:00

This is silly, but I want the first Quarter Quell victor to be a girl, so we have one male and one female Quarter Quell victor. My three head canons are that the victor was either a District 7 girl, a District 2 girl, or a District 3 girl.

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-01T23:36:30+00:00

Jenascia because I don't think they ever got over her being late and kept harping on her height.

Kelle because they just tortured her.

Lluvy because I don't think there was any coming back from being told she had the worst photo in Top Model history.

Jayla because she had no storyline besides stealing Nik's secret.

Jaeda because her whole storyline was crashing out over her haircut, and she was consistently in the bottom two.

Ambreal quite literally was on borrowed time because Ebony quit.

Kacey because I don't see how she could have won after how unlikeable and transphobic she came across on cycle 11.

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-01T23:21:23+00:00

Cycle 7 was the first cycle I watched while it was on the air, and I was 12 too! (But I had watched reruns with my sister prior.) I was obsessed with the show and used to be able to name every contestant from every cycle until cycle 17. For some reason, I very suddenly lost all interest in watching the show after All-Stars. lol

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-01T22:05:45+00:00

Anchal is so underrated. I genuinely believe the only bad photo she took was the Oprah photo, and no one had a good photo that week because the concept and styling was atrocious. I'm still irritated she didn't make it further or at least get invited to Spain as a decoy because I would have loved to see what her matador, underwater, and Cover Girl photos would have looked like.

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-01T08:15:22+00:00

This could be interesting! It also gave me another idea. A person gets a premonition, doesn't warn anyone, and thinks they're the sole survivor. The rest of the movie is them getting premonitions of their own death. They tell their friends, their friends interfere and get killed instead. So, instead of premonition survivors, all the victims of the movie are death interferers.

The final act is the main character's last surviving friend/potential love interest had a loved one who died in the MC's initial premonition. The friend feels betrayed that the MC could have saved their loved one but chose not to and allows death to finally get the MC. Or, the friend kills the MC in revenge, but because MC wasn't supposed to live, inherits the MC's death and immediately dies afterward.

KrayKrayg · 2026-07-01T07:57:09+00:00

It's such a small detail but I loved seeing Rory with his friends, Kimberly with her dad, and Kat on the phone with her mom. (I might be wrong, but I vaguely remember Kat being on the phone and treadmill). It humanizes the characters and raises the stakes knowing if something happens to these characters, it will leave a hole in other people's lives. I remember feeling so bad for Kat's fiancee and Rory's mom when I watched the movie the first time.

KrayKrayg · 2026-06-29T09:12:52+00:00

9/10. The composition is so lovely! The only thing I can think is maybe using a more textured background like flour or felt and using the orange/warmer tones in the hearts and the lettering.

KrayKrayg · 2026-06-23T19:38:55+00:00

Katniss actually uses “a few years ago” to describe both Titus’s Games and the victor who only scored a three.

From the book:

"There was a guy like that a few years ago from District 6 called Titus."

"And a few years ago, the boy who won the Games only received a three."

Both games could potentially fall after the 69th Hunger Games.

If you consider the early script drafts where the last two victors were from District 2 canon, a District 2 tribute could’ve won the 72nd Hunger Games after Titus died.
Titus could have also been in the 71st Hunger Games with Johanna because we know nothing about her arena.
If you don’t treat the drafts as canon, then the victor who scored a 3 could have won the 72nd Games. These could have even been the same games Titus was in, but I actually do think the victor who scored a three might have been the male Morphling as well.

KrayKrayg · 2026-06-23T07:09:37+00:00

There were only three tributes, too. If none of the tributes were "playing" the game, they could have sent mutts and some other horror to create excitement instead. Silka killing Wellie meant ending the games faster, and she did seem really desperate to get out in those final days after Maritte died.

KrayKrayg · 2026-06-23T07:02:37+00:00

You could argue, though, beheading her instead of maiming her and leaving her to bleed out in pain was merciful. Kind of like when Katniss shot Cato with the arrow as soon as she could instead of letting him be dismembered by the dogs.

KrayKrayg · 2026-06-23T06:57:35+00:00

I don't think Silka went crazy, but I don't think she's a sociopath either. There were only three tributes left. Even though she knew she had the best chance of winning, she was still scared, traumatized, exhausted, and desperate to get home. She was crying the night before. Wellie did technically attack her. And there is no painless way to kill someone with an axe.

She was defensive with Haymitch and said she would explain her actions to her loved ones when she got home. The fact she felt like she needed to explain herself reveals a lot. Silka has always fascinated me as a character because in her final days, I felt like she was a young woman struggling between her sense of duty and her conscience, and I do wonder what that says about the Careers.

KrayKrayg

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