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Why You’re REALLY Here, Part 3!
Doing our year in review post reminded us of our occasional “Why You’re REALLY Here” posts, in which we dissect real keywords and phrases that have lead people to Victor’s Village via search engines. It’s about time for another one!
To repeat, people have actually searched these phrases and found their way here. Because they’re so repetitive and numerous, we’ve left out everyone looking for various forms of sexy times featuring the characters or actors this round. Seriously… it’s about half of our search terms. We wish that were a joke.
Indeed, good sir!
In today’s post, all of them have been searched at least twice in the past 30 days. Prepare yourselves!
Fish Guy Star Wars - Fish guy? FISH GUY?! How dare you speak of the honorable Admiral Ackbar, the character whose one line gets the greatest unintentional laugh in the entire original Star Wars trilogy, in such a way! Learn some respect! Also, as to how you were lead to a Hunger Games site: IT’S A TRAP!
Was that really the one time you kissed Gale? - We’ve never kissed Gale, because Gale is a fictional character. We’ve featured first person guest posts, but this isn’t “The Katniss Everdeen Diaries” now! Are you really so desperate for gossip that you’ll try to get it from a fictional character?!
How to make Hunger Games trading cards - Buy tons of supplies. Print tons of photos and descriptions on card stock. Spend hours printing, pasting, gluing, and decorating. Never trade them because homemade Hunger Games trading cards are absolutely worthless. Go online and buy some like a sensible human being.
Ron Howard shirtless photos - We realize he’s a solid actor turned director and back in the day he wasn’t all the bad to look at but DEAR GOD! WHY WOULD YOU EVER WANT THIS?!
Dismissing criticism as haterz - *cough* Do we do this? Maybe? WITH THE Z? Possibly. We’re just that classy! Let’s make it worse with a girl band song from the turn of the century!
The Hunger Games boarding school fanfictions - That would be one FUCKED UP boarding school! You think that these kids would just get out all their frustrations in other ways if you give them beds, but NO. They’re trying to kill each other, people! WRONG SETTING.
Katniss and Peeta pregnant - AT THE SAME TIME?! We don’t think science has reached that achievement even in Panem but hey, maybe we’re wrong.
Sexy panic game - The words “sexy” and “panic” really don’t go together in our book! Do we need a safe word? If so, it’s “armadillo”. We know it’s a mouthful, buuuuut… *ends joke there before we really get ourselves in trouble*
Friends who blackmail you - The Hunger Games will not save you! You need better friends. Possibly a lawyer. Godspeed.
At Least We’re Being Honest With Each Other,
The Girl With The Pearl
Hunger Games Holiday Gift Guide 2012
There so many ways to celebrate this holiday season, but why not share just a touch of Hunger Games cheer with your friends who are also fans?
We’re sharing with readers via our holiday contests, but while scouring the Etsy for some of the amazing prizes up for grabs, we found some other great things! Things we wanted to give away but Dammit! There is a budget! So instead, we’re going to share them with you here so we can all oooooooohhh and ahhhhhhhhhhh over these things together!
Dandelion in the Spring Necklace by NaturalPrettyThings
Katniss needed a dandelion in the spring and apparently, we need one from late summer/early fall after seeing this gorgeous design inspired by the series! It might not seem sensible to keep a delicate wisp of a dead dandelion around your neck. But you know what? We are totally in an argument with sensibility right now!
Hunger Games Series Glitter Christmas Ornaments by TreeBaublez
This one was not only hard to keep off our prize list, but it was hard not to buy it for ourselves! TreeBaublez makes excellent fandom designs that would make any Christmas tree squee with excitement, if trees could squee!
The Hunger Games Hollow Book Safe with Book Box by HollowBooksCo
We don’t understand why we love hollowed out books… we just do! And since most fanatics already have a copy of The Hunger Games floating around their home, no one would suspect much of this Collector’s Edition turned really cool hiding spot. Unless you left your hollow book and your actual Collector’s Edition right next to each other!
Shoot, Gurl Tee by theWolfandtheBee
We love the Hunger Games and archery references with just a pinch of snark in this design from the Wolf and the Bee, with whom you can currently save 10% with the coupon code Christmas2012!
Mockingjay Inspired Drop Necklace by TheForksForest
It’s not everyday that you see fancy vintage looking jewelry inspired by a dystopian series, but that makes us appreciate this simple but sweet drop necklace, complete with a freshwater pearl! It’s eye-catching yet it alludes to the series without being obnoxious, making it a nice subtle way to fangirl!
Crocheted Hunger Games Characters by LunasCrafts
Not gonna lie: Realistic characters dolls freak us right the hell out! But this little crocheted family of Hunger Games characters is super cute and great for anyone who could do with some handmade collectibles to give a room a pop of playfulness!
Stay Alive Poster from Blueleaf Creative
We’ve already fangirled Blueleaf Creative in the Movies.com Hunger Games Holiday Gift Guide, but we had to do it once more! Want to get your hands on these sassy, colorful prints? There’s a special coupon code for Victor’s Village readers! Just use the code VICTOR10 at checkout through 12/12/12 for 10% off any purchase!
As For AWFUL Hunger Games Stuff We Found On Etsy… That Post Is Coming Soon!
The Girl With The Pearl
Victor’s Village Holiday Contests!
Happy Holidays, everyone!
Tis the season to be jolly and all that jazz! Not everyone celebrates the same winter holidays, but we think it’s safe to say that we’re all hoping for a little extra love and fun this time of year. So we’re here to spread the love and have some fun with not one but TWO holiday contests!
In true Victor’s Village fashion, we’re not going to just give prizes to you. You gotta earn it! Don’t worry, it’s nothing too strenuous and there’s something everyone can participate in (unless you are completely bereft of imagination or humor, in which case there’s really no help for you anywhere!)
We’d like to give a quick shoutout to Tess from Tanglethorne, who was kind enough to donate the mini posters we’ll be giving away to the site!
General Rules: Both contests are international. Please include your name and country of origin in your email to us. You will receive the prizes after Christmas, so re-gifting is not an option!
CONTEST #1 – THE UGLY SWEATER CONTEST
In silly holiday tradition, snap a picture of yourself in the most obnoxious sweater you can find for a chance at an awesome prize pack! We’ll gather up the photos and let your peers vote on their favorite!
Rules
- The sweater does not have to denote a specific holiday (though it can) nor does it have to be Hunger Games related.
- Faces do not have to be included in the photo.
- Photos will be posted on the site for voting. If you’re not comfortable with this, please don’t enter!
- All photos must be sent to thevictorsvillage@gmail.com by 11:59pm PST on Wednesday, December 19! Voting will take place in the two days following.
Prize Pack
2 Hunger Games cups from the LA premiere
1 pack of Hunger Games trading cards
1 Hunger Games mini poster
1 Seneca Crane’s Beard coffee mug OR pint glass (your choice!) from HumerusWares
CONTEST #2 – HUNGER GAMES CAROL CONTEST
Write a carol that the people of Panem could sing through the districts for a chance at another sweet prize pack! Get as ridiculous as you want!
Mockingjay headband!
Rules
- Carols can be based off existing holiday songs of any origin or they can be completely original. If they’re based off a song, let us know which one!
- There is no word limit. If you’d like to write us an epic carol poem that makes Beowulf look like a limerick, feel free, but you won’t get extra consideration either way!
- Entries must be sent to thevictorsvillage@gmail.com by 11:59pm PST on Wednesday, December 19, at which time the staff at Victor’s Village will chose their favorite!
Prize Pack
2 Hunger Games cups from the LA premiere
1 Hunger Games lanyard
1 Hunger Games mini poster
1 Handmade felt Mockingjay headband (modeled by Twiffidy on the right!)
1 Katniss Everdeen Devotional Candle from BananaLeviathan
**UPDATE**
Announcing a runner-up prize for each contest, thanks to the generosity of Leah from Blueleaf Creative! The runner-up in each contest will be allowed to choose one poster from Blueleaf Creative’s collection! Check them out, just in case! 
Hunger Games Pride: Back to School Edition
Everyone gather ’round The Girl With The Pearl and tell you a story, Mr. Rogers style. *pats seat*
Once upon a time, I wasn’t that cool. Hard to believe, I know! …Well, I have never been cool in the traditional sense, but I made myself less cool by worrying way too much about what others thought of me. If I could do high school all over again, I would have accepted just how geeky I was and actually enjoy life’s geeky pleasures.
Because there is another school year upon us and there is always a way to show fandom pride in the office, we’re listing some of our favorite Hunger Games swag based on REAL coolness (aka totally undisguised, sinful levels of nerdiness!)
Level 1: Mockingjay pin
Any fan can stick this on their bag and act really casual about it if someone asks, as if it’s not a huge deal that consumes a huge chunk of your life! “Oh, this old thing? Someone gave it to me ages ago. I guess I like the books, so it’s a nice little embellishment! *cough*”
Level 2: Stickers
Slightly less casual, but still not insane. “I went to the bookstore and this was on sale at the counter for like 99 cents. My stuff came to $19.50 and I got 20% off my next purchase if I spent more than $20, so I was like… ‘Hey, whatever!’”
Level 3: Hunger Games Bookmarks
Your chance to get a little hipster! “Urgh… I just feel like most of the books they have us read in school are so passe! I just wanted to incorporate a little something that actually speaks to our generation, you know?” Note: This will not work if you’re reading The Hunger Games in school!
Level 4: Pencils and/or Pens
Most of it is covered by your hand, but if it’s not, you can always say you’re in it for the actors. “I only got this because it has Josh Hutcherson/Jennifer Lawrence on it (depending on your preferences) and with Mr. or Mrs. Carterface running this class/office, I NEED something pretty to look at!”
Level 5: Hunger Games Jewelry
Something you can show off or tuck under your shirt, depending on how much fandom pride you feel at any particular hour! “Oh, you saw that? Yeah, I like the books. I thought this was kinda cool.”
Level 6: Notebooks
There’s basically no denying fan status at this point, so use style as an excuse. “I keep all these plain notebooks and I always get them confused, so I got these fun Hunger Games ones that actually come in different designs!
Level 7: Phone Case
“I’ve read the books and I like the movie even though *insert generic movie complaint here*, but I am just obsessed with all the graphic design imagery from the series!
Level 8: Laptop Skin
There’s no pretending at this point! “Oh yeah, I love the movie! Plus I figured this looks so much better than that plain silver cover top… This is a conversation piece!”
Level 9: Hunger Games Clothes
Claim to be doing the world a public service! “I really believe in the message behind this series, so if I’m going to be a consumer and buy new clothes anyway, I’m going to spread that message!
Level 10: The Ultimate Back to School Set
“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND. THE HUNGER GAMES IS MY SOULMATE!“
It’s Okay. The Hunger Games is Our Soulmate Too (Does That Make Us All Polygamists?)
The Girl With The Pearl
Hunger Games DVD Countdown Contest!
First order of business… ZOMG WE CAN PRE-ORDER THE HUNGER GAMES DVD / BLU-RAY NOW!
Click here to reserve your copy:
In celebration of the impending DVD release, Lionsgate is holding a weekly contest! Create your own DVD Countdown images featuring the hashtag #HungerGamesDVD and the phrase “X weeks and counting”, starting with 11 weeks this week!
Each week will have a different theme for the Countdown image, announced every week on The Official Hunger Games Facebook page. The theme for this week is the Mockingjay!
Send your entries to HungerGamesDVDCountdown@gmail.com and you can win this awesome prize pack:
The Ultimate Hunger Games Prize Pack
We’ve Got New Stuff!
Just a quick post to let you all know that Victor’s Village has a brand spankin’ new feature that will pique your interests and keep you entertained on a long day!
We’ve compiled a list of our favorite books and movies that are not related to The Hunger Games so that you can see exactly what we’re addicted to when we’re NOT obsessing over this series. If you’re looking for a new entertainment to sink your teeth into, we’ve got a ton listed!
We’ve also thrown in our favorite Hunger Games items, for good measure!
VICTOR’S VILLAGE RECOMMENDATIONS – THE STUFF WE LOVE
Check out the list and if anything looks interesting, click on the image to get all of the details!
IMPORTANT NOTE: The page sometimes has trouble loading all the awesome, so if the page looks a little scant toward the bottom, HIT REFRESH!
Disturbing Hunger Games Stuff We Found On The Internet
Welcome to the weekend, where our life is so exciting, we spend a large chunk of it focusing on this here website!
We’re working on a new feature coming to the site soon that has lead us to search around the Internet for ALL The Hunger Games things! However, along the way, we discovered some stuff that we really wish we hadn’t.
Of course, we’re going to share them with you. If we’re going to be disturbed, you will too, dammit!
1. Blatant of lack originality – Self-published author Conrad Powell is selling a 30-page essay comparing The Hunger Games and modern-day America. All royalties will be donated to a charity of his readers choosing, which is admirable of him, despite the fact that his preview pages are just advertisements for his vampire series that makes Twilight look like the works of Charles Dickens. But what’s the title of this project, published just last week? Hunger is Not a Game. Sound familiar? It should. Shylah of Down With The Capitol introduced a charity project with the same name last year, soon after which she teamed up with The Harry Potter Alliance and got huge support for it. Riding on the coattails of someone else’s success, much?
2. Erotic fanfiction FOR SALE- If any Hunger Games fansite is going to devolve into straight up porn talk, it’s going to be us. So let’s get to it! Just when we start to think all the lame parodies are bad, we stumble across THE HUNG GAMES. We really wish we were joking about that title, but we’re not.
Warning: This infant may slaughter you.
An author by the name of Aubrey Watt has actually taken all of her bad Hunger Games sex fan fiction, changed the names of characters to things like “Petr” and “Geil”, put it in Kindle format and PUT IT UP FOR SALE. You can get some of the greatest classics ever written for free with a Kindle, but prepare to pay $2.99 to enjoy Katniss and Peeta’s sexytimes, slightly altered for legal purposes!
3. Baby clothes discussing killing – If we have children, we have every intention of getting them into The Hunger Games at an appropriate age. Even before they read the story, there will likely be clothing with Mockingjay pins and such on it. But a baby beanie reading KILL OR BE KILLED? REALLY?! Let’s not only advertise the story to those who are not familiar as something ultra-violent… let’s do that WITH OUR BABIES.
Mind you, this was all found just today. We know you’ve probably come across some creepy Hunger Games stuff too, so get it off your chest and share with us in the comments!
We’re Searching For Handmade Hunger Games Stuff on Etsy to Cleanse Our Souls,
The Girl With The Pearl
How To Make a Hunger Games T-Shirt!
Hi everyone I’m Marissa from Rae Gun Ramblings. I’m a crazy Hunger Games fan.
Today I want to share with you how to make your own Sassy Katniss Shirt (or really any awesome Hunger Games item you can dream of) using freezer paper stenciling.
What You Need
- shirt (or something you want the design on)
- fabric paint (I like tulip paints I’ve bought the from Joann and Michael’s)
- foam brush freezer paper (they sell it by the wax paper at the grocery store)
- cardboard to put in between the fabric layers
What To Do
- Make your design and cut it out of freezer paper (this is like wax paper but the wax is only on one size). You want the shinny side down so consider that while positioning. I used my cricut and put the shinny side on my mat when I cut but you can use any cutting machine or even an exacto knife (just print up your design and either trace it or print it right on the paper side of the freezer paper and carefully cut away the black)
- Iron the stencil on your shirt (or bag or whatever). Shinny side down. Be anal about this make sure you do a good job getting all the edges. This is the step that I worry about most.
- With a board and more freezer paper (shinny side up) in between your shirt layers use fabric paint and a foam brush and apply the paint. I blot and smoosh as opposed to brush.
Don’t go too heavy at once just keep on blotting and adding a little paint at a time - I like to wait about an hour and then pull off the stencil. It will still be wet so be careful not to touch the paint and not to touch the wet stencil to spots on the shirt.
- Allow to dry completely. Wear with pride and make everyone else jealous.
You can use this technique to make just about anything. For example my friends and I made these awesome I Shop the Hob Bags the same way.
Stenciling is a little finicky so I do recommend practicing on some scrap fabric just so you can get the feel of things before you try it on a nice shirt or bag.
I hope you like it. I’ve got loads of HG and other geeky crafts and posts on my blog I’d love you to check it out and definitely let me know if you try this out or have any questions.
VICTOR’S VILLAGE CONTEST #2: Seneca Crane’s Beard!
Out of every little detail we’ve seen of The Hunger Games so far, nothing has its own cult following quite like Seneca Crane’s beard.
There are memes, tweets, and forum posts aplenty trying to describe and celebrate its curvy, stylish beauty. While they’re all well and good, we’re more interest in your personal interpretation!
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THE RULES
1. SEND US A PHOTO OF YOU SPORTING YOUR OWN “SENECA CRANE’S BEARD” TO thevictorsvillage@gmail.com BY MARCH 20, ALONG WITH YOUR FIRST NAME AND LOCATION! All entries will be posted on the site and voted upon by fans. The winner will be determined by those votes on March 23!
2. ACTUAL FACIAL HAIR NOT NECESSARY. Not all of us can grow a beard (and some who can just prefer not to), so participants are fully encouraged to make their own “beard” out of something like make-up, marker, felt, construction paper, yarn, or whatever other material they feel comfortable with! There’s only one exception there…
3. THE BEARD CANNOT BE PHOTOSHOPPED. It’s just too easy! We need a a photo of your with something physically stuck to your face!
4. THIS CONTEST IS INTERNATIONAL!
THE WINNING PRIZE PACK
- Personalized Coffee Mug from CafePress.com’s Hunger Games store! Your very own custom Hunger Games mug that your can show off whenever you feel like talking about the fandom! What could be better?
- The Girl Who Was on Fire (Movie Edition)! If ever you want to pick up a companion book about The Hunger Games, this one is the place to start! It offers smart analysis of the series coming from real authors not just professional companion book writers!
- The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook! How cool is this?! We expect you to bake us something delicious once you win!
If you missed the first contest we announced as part of our big celebration leading up to The Hunger Games movie premiere, click here to check it out!
The Hunger Games Magazine Match-up!
Oh, magazines! How we love thee!
You open the doorway to all sorts of brand new photos, quotes, and snippets of information, all in a fun, collectible format! ..Well, most of the time.
Either you’ve learned it the hard way by now or you soon will: Not ALL magazines live up to the hype. In fact, a good few of them slap a title and image from your favorite fandoms on the front, recycle some old pictures, quotes and information on the inside, and call it a day. You end up paying $10 to receive a magazine with a feature strewn together from articles you saw on various fansites three months ago.
To avoid that catastrophe, we’re breaking down the major magazines you’ll be seeing a lot of Hunger Games features in over the next few years.
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Grade: A+
We’re not even going to TRY to hide our geeky entertainment journalism crush on EW. They have exclusive images and music, set reports, and unbelievably good interviews. Just in the past week, they’ve released a ton, including Abraham’s Daughter, the new Arcade Fire song for The Hunger Games soundtrack! If the issue is Hunger Games-centric, it’s worth the money.
Empire
Grade: A
This British mag is Entertainment Weekly’s slightly more mature brother, but we love him just the same! Again, Empire keeps things original and often exclusive. They also offer goodies like pull-out posters that you don’t see in EW. Their collectible editions are some of the best we’ve seen, so you can feel safe investing in these!
US Weekly
Grade: B
Out of the two special editions coming out this week, US Weekly seems to be the more impressive. From the sneak peeks we’ve seen, they’ve got some quotable insights from the filmmakers in there. However, if you’ve seen the companion books, you’ve seen all of the pictures they’ve showed fans so far. Still, if you’re a junkie of behind the scenes info, US Weekly is a solid source!
People
Grade: C-
In a lot of ways, People is a beloved staple in pop culture, but we weren’t impressed by past collectible editions. As much time as the magazine spends discussing the series, they also take up lots of space discussing the personal lives of the actors with minimal quotes and lots of “outside sources.” Also, the pictures range from “almost but not quite new” to “really old”. We find it pretty unappealing.
Movie Magic
Grade: D
We will be nice and not give this one a flat-out FAIL, but we’re coming close. Movie Magic is one of those magazines we discussed above where there’s really no original content, just old information regurgitated and repackaged. If you like to collect, then collect away! However, this one is certainly not an essential for the occasional buyer.
Pre-Teen Pop Magazines
Grade: F
We’re grouping these all together to save time. You know the types: J-14, Tiger Beat, BOP, even the likes of Teen Vogue and Seventeen. Here’s the thing about these types of magazines: They could care less about the movies. Typically, there’s a quick synopsis and one question about the character, then the coverage and/or interview breaks away faster than a dog chasing a squirrel through a park, talking about personal style and dating and just how freaking hot they think said celebrity is. HI. WE KNOW THEY’RE HOT. Why would we pay you to tell us that?
There are many more magazines out there that will feature our precious Hunger Games, but we hope this little guide helps you manage among the big fish on your local bookstore’s magazine shelves!
Good Luck! You’re Going Need It!
The Girl With The Pearl
