heartforeyes

[heartforeyes]

I think the symbolism of Peeta wanting to have kids is that he is the "dandelion"--the proof that things can be "good again." So he's the one who has hope. Sure, Katniss was basically Prim's mom and Prim died so that is terrible. But the next time doesn't have to be that way.

The way it's worded in the book seems to confuse a lot of people. I've seen too many posts about how he forced her. But the word Collins use is "convinced" (verb meaning to cause someone to believe firmly in the truth of something.)

I know Katniss thinks Peeta has super powers to convince audiences of anything, but he doesn't really. He's not tricking her. She knows better than he that having a child is a lot of work. I like to imagine the "convincing" he does is simply be there for a period of time so that she feels safe enough?

[heartforeyes]

there is something so 🫶precious🫶 about how when katniss is dreaming about the utopia she wishes upon peeta, it is for his child to be safe.

because that is all she really wanted in the end wasn’t it. to live in a world where children could be safe.

but her life has been nothing but suffering. an antithesis to the paradise of this new, precious world. it isn’t a world she can imagine for herself. a world where survival is not the object, but rather living.

but maybe her lover could make it there. in a place that seems to reflect his glory. the boy who embodies goodness. hope. maybe he can frolic in this new heaven. a place where his children could be safe. maybe he could go there too.

but perhaps the most precious moment of them all, is when katniss realizes that she can go too.

[heartforeyes]

when katniss first gets to know peeta in the games, she is constantly surprised by him. by his gentleness (thg, 291). his kindness (thg, 49). and even his flirtiness (thg, 264).

and always in contrast to his mother. "the witch" (thg, 37; 264) who seemed, at least to katniss, to be nothing but cruel (thg, 37). throwing biting remarks toward anyone who could hear them (thg, 90). a woman who embodied a special kind of selfishness required in panem.

a woman who was nothing like katniss's boy with the bread. a boy with an innate goodness (cf, 96). a goodness that seemed a mystery. yet one so obvious that anyone could see (cf, 78).

yet, when hijacked peeta enters the picture, that boy is gone. and all that remains is the shadow of his mother.

a boy devoid of his previous warmth and steadiness (mj, 168). constantly throwing insults and cruel remarks. all directed toward katniss (mj, 199).

and as her angel of a boy falls down to earth, katniss is convinced that this cannot be her peeta (mj, 168). this boy who yells insults at her cannot be the same one who threw her the bread (mj, 165). surely this is not the same boy who loved her so much he would rather die than live in a world without her.

but he is. the peeta whose face resembles his mother's more and more with each passing minute is still the same one from before.

because despite the way that katniss frames it to try to make sense of it, snow did not change peeta into a completely new person. rather, he simply tried to turn him into a boy whom the cruelty of the world had tarnished. a boy who realized that kindness was merely a way for people to exploit him. a weakness. 

he wanted to turn peeta into a boy like snow.

and so, in district two, when a distraught katniss fully appreciates what she considers the "real peeta," part of that is because of the softness, the warmth, the kindness that he brought to her.

but with that realization, she also recognizes that the goodness peeta carried with him was a choice. he was not made to be a god walking the earth. but instead he had it in him to be as cruel as his mother the entire time. but instead chose to be kind anyway.

and maybe that is kind of the whole point.

[heartforeyes]

[heartforeyes]

sometimes i think about ma abernathy staring her oldest son in the face when he was born not knowing that he would grow up and be the indirect cause of her death despite all of the glory from his win. finding so much promise and life in those little eyes not aware that once she would leave him they'd become tainted by grief and horror.

[heartforeyes]

The Author Is Always Right

As we all know now, Suzanne Collins originally intended for Katniss and Gale to be cousins, but since that wouldn’t be great for sales, they convinced her to change it and allow a love triangle to form.

I still love everything about The Hunger Games, and the finished product is one of the best books ever. However (and this might be a hot take), Suzanne was right to want Gale to be our girl’s cousin. I feel like if that had been the case, the story would have been perceived more maturely.

When I read The Hunger Games for the first time, I was 10 or 11, so of course I was rooting for Peeta. I even made some posts about how Gale sucked, and one of my main worries was, “Omg, what if Katniss ends up with that guy and not my precious sweet Peeta??!!?” And like, a valid fear for a ten-year-old, lol.

But if I had been older when I read the books for the first time and had a better understanding of war, my biggest worry would have been, “What if Katniss ends up all alone?” Because that’s what happens in and after war — it takes away everyone you love. It drains you so much that the idea of love, of letting yourself bloom again after losing the most important person in your life, feels impossible. If there had been no love triangle, readers would have feared that Katniss might never find the strength or the will to heal.

And meanwhile, there are people who think it was wrong for Suzanne to have Katniss end up with Peeta, to have babies, to find some kind of domestic bliss… sorry, but do you understand the concept of these books?

I wouldn’t change a thing about The Hunger Games. I love it with all my heart. It’s just that the author is always right.

[heartforeyes]

Hmmm fic idea I have about Katniss having a panic attack cuz she thinks she lost her pearl and after looking everywhere and tearing the house apart shes like actually is fetal position sobbing about it while haymitch tries to calm her down and peeta comes home and feels so so bad becus he took the pearl to have it made into a ring 💍 and was waiting for the right moment to give it to her . She kinda sobers up and wipes away her tears and snot and asks if she can see the ring, so peeta pulls the ring out from where he has most definitely kept it on his person waiting for That Moment and Katniss chokes out a half sob half laugh and she’s like. So are you gonna ask? And he gets to Katniss, will you- before she flings herself at him.

[heartforeyes]

I was looking up different medicinal plants, trying to get some guess' in for what Katniss' mother might be named, but found a plant called the Angelica plant. And while it is medicinal, it is used more for flavouring gin, and decorating cakes! So now, until proven otherwise, it's my name for Katniss and Peeta's daughter.

Medicinal plant name for Katniss (in honour of Prim though). Gin for Haymitch. Cakes for Peeta.

[heartforeyes]

Toast babies named Avery and Dean to honor her father (Ever Deen)

a Hunger Games HC I’ve had for a long time is Katniss taking Peeta’s last name once they get married.

I mean, think about it. Katniss Everdeen was the girl on fire. The symbol of the rebellion. The Victor. Her name is known in every lip in Panem; every child born after the second rebellion will know her name.

But Katniss Mellark is just a woman from District 12. A mother and a wife. A provider. A hunter who has the woods around her home memorized like the back of her hand. She is anonymous. She is singular. She is herself.

And I think Katniss separating her identity from the girl in the arena is something she would definitely do.

[heartforeyes]

a Hunger Games HC I’ve had for a long time is Katniss taking Peeta’s last name once they get married.

I mean, think about it. Katniss Everdeen was the girl on fire. The symbol of the rebellion. The Victor. Her name is known in every lip in Panem; every child born after the second rebellion will know her name.

But Katniss Mellark is just a woman from District 12. A mother and a wife. A provider. A hunter who has the woods around her home memorized like the back of her hand. She is anonymous. She is singular. She is herself.

And I think Katniss separating her identity from the girl in the arena is something she would definitely do.

[heartforeyes]

The Disney Fairy universe gets insanely dark when you combine the books and the movies together.

The Disney Fairy wiki states that the Home Tree used to produce pixie dust before it was destroyed by a fire that consumed Neverland. (Most likely started by the dragon Kyto but I’m too lazy to verify) The only reason that fairies can still fly is because Neverland transferred its magic from the tree and into an ordinary dove and her egg. This became Mother Dove.

There are four seasonal realms in Pixie Hollow. In the books, only spring and summer exist. It would make sense for the cooler seasons to be completely eradicated by dragon fire.

The Disney Fairies movies ended before Tinkerbell met Peter Pan. My theory is that the fire hit shortly after the events of the final movie, (Neverbeast) and she fled after watching many, many fairies (including her friends and sister) die. This drove her to the outskirts of Neverland where she found Peter and the Lost Boys.

There are now fairies on the mainland year round to make sure that the seasons stay consistent. Not sure how this is carried out, because the winter and autumn fairies were killed in the fire.

Oh man, the freaking queen. The things she’s had to live through if you think about it-her kingdom’s been threatened multiple times throughout her lifetime and finally one succeeded in destroying it. She’s literally had to rebuild everything she knew from the ground up. Plus, if you’re going off of SOTW lore, she’s lost the same lover, Lord Milori, TWICE.

And yet, new fairies are still being born, ones who know nothing about Pixie Hollow, only the renamed Fairy Haven. A new era had begun but, if you’ve read the Gail Carson Levine trilogy, the dangers were far from over.

[heartforeyes]

When I was little and the Tinkerbell movies ended, I just assumed some kind of genocide happened in Pixie Hollow, cause why else would Tinkerbell leave her friends, her malewife Terence and her girlboss girlfriend Vidia to run after a bunch of sweaty kids?

[heartforeyes]

‘Because when he sings . . . even the birds stop to listen.’

Hello, it’s Lynx and her endless obsession with Second Quarter Quell generation 🫡

[heartforeyes]

Just thinking with Lenore dove and Mr Everdeen being somewhat related (maybe) .

Does this make Haymitch sort of katniss's uncle?

I know that Lenore dove dies (what do you mean) but like he sort of is (at least in my brain) is that just me?

[heartforeyes]

"You said you wanted to get to the woods at daylight" - sunrise on the reaping

Haymitch and Mr Everdeen are friends .

My silly theory (I'm aware that it's probably not true) actually has some evidence guys !!!

Basically we now know that both Haymitch and Mr Everdeen used the woods. Lenore dove (Haymitchs gf) was covey and (at least in my opinion) I'm 99% sure so was Mr Everdeen (so Mr Everdeen and Lenore dove were probably related in some capacity or at least viewed each other as related).

So yeah guys my head cannon isn't far fetched what do you mean....

[heartforeyes]

I've seen a lot of posts lately concerned about what could be revealed in the next Hunger Games book about existing characters, connections between Katniss & the Covey, etc. I just wanted to remind everyone of this quote from Suzanne Collins from 2018:

"Her parents have their own histories in District 12 but I only included what’s pertinent to Katniss’s tale. Her father’s hunting skills, musicality and death in the mines. Her mother’s healing talent and vulnerabilities. Her deep love for Prim. Those are the elements that seemed essential to me. I have a world of information about the characters that didn’t make it into the book. With some stories, revealing that could be illuminating, but in the case of The Hunger Games, I think it would only be a distraction unless it was part of a new tale within the world of Panem."

It's natural to be nervous anytime an author adds more canon to a beloved series, but I want to remind everyone how thoughtful and intentional Suzanne is with her writing. She is not going to add superfluous details unless they serve the story instead of detracting from it. Additionally, what we learn about old characters like Haymitch, Maysilee, or Katniss and Peeta's parents may be new to us, but much of it may have existed from the beginning, informing the characters in the background.

I mostly hope that readers approach the new book with an open mind. Don't be too disappointed if a theory or headcannon you loved turns out not to be true or if a theory you hate is vindicated. Try to separate the book from the online discourse of fans and look at it for what it is before passing judgment. And who knows, maybe the new book won't be great - I think criticism is totally valid, even of established authors. I guess I just hope no one ruins their experience with the book because of ideas about theories based on fan behavior.

I'm so excited for March 18th!!!

Levithan, D. (2018, October 18). Suzanne Collins talks about ‘The Hunger Games,’ the books and the movies. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/books/suzanne-collins-talks-about-the-hunger-games-the-books-and-the-movies.html

[heartforeyes]

Prim is crazy making cuz how do you write a character who haunts the narrative from the start but doesnt actually die until the end. echoes of primrose are everywhere you look but shes not dead yet. you still have time to get to know prim as the reader- shes still alive. but instead you get a ghost of a girl who floats around the peripheral of the story, always slightly in and out of frame. always on your mind but never tangible. always just out of reach until shes unreachable with finality. the living dead girl.