#AND that you think katniss will allow peeta to force her to do anything she doesn't want to do

[yourssinfullyquiche]

honestly op, those people make my blood boil

I cannot, do not, and will not ever understand people's hatred of the hunger games' epilogue.

Katniss choosing to have children is not out of character. Full stop. Peeta does not force Katniss to have children. Full stop.

Katniss repeats throughout the books that she never wants to have kids because she does not want to bring them into the horrible reality that she has experienced. She takes 15 years to heal from this trauma before she finally feels that the world is safe for her kids.

Katniss's choice to have children isn't out of character because she is not the same character as when we left her just after the war. She is not a scarred 17-year-old anymore.

And while Peeta is a driving force in the decision, she doesn't just have them for him. In the epilogue, Katniss literally talks about the joy of holding her daughter!!!! You can see that she has grown and changed opinions in the last 15 years (because of course she could over that period of time).

I will absolutely concede that the movie gutted it of so much depth, but in the book? It is hopeful and it is beautiful.

[mollywog]

"Do you think we'd have ended up like this if only one of us had won?" he asks, glancing around at the other victors. "Just another part of the freak show?"

Actually - yes (though they’re not freaks). Under slightly different circumstances or over time, Katniss could have become the next Haymitch, Johanna, Finnick, Annie, or morphling

Haymitch Abernathy

Maybe he wasn't always a drunk. Maybe, in the beginning, he tried to help the tributes. But then it got unbear-able. It must be hell to mentor two kids and then watch them die. Year after year after year. I realize that if I get out of here, that will become my job. To mentor the girl from District 12. The idea is so re-pellent, I thrust it from my mind.

~

"Is that what happened to you?" I ask Haymitch.

"No. My mother and younger brother. My girl. They were all dead two weeks after I was crowned victor. Because of that stunt I pulled with the force field," he answers. "Snow had no one to use against me."

"I'm surprised he didn't just kill you," I say.

"Oh, no. I was the example. The person to hold up to the young Finnicks and Johannas and Cashmeres. Of what could happen to a victor who caused problems," says Haymitch. "But he knew he had no leverage against me."

"Until Peeta and I came along," I say softly. I don't even get a shrug in return.

Johanna Mason

Where you can starve to death in safety," I mutter. Then I glance quickly over my shoulder. Even here, even in the middle of nowhere, you worry someone might overhear you.

When I was younger, I scared my mother to death, the things I would blurt out about District 12, about the people who rule our country, Panem, from the far-off city called the Capitol. Eventually I understood this would only lead us to more trouble. So Ilearned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts. Do my work quietly in school.

~

"Of course Peeta's right. The whole country adores Katniss's little sister. If they really killed her like this, they'd probably have an uprising on their hands," says Johanna flatly. "Don't want that, do they?" She throws back her head and shouts, "Whole country in rebellion? Wouldn't want anything like that!"I can't help catching her hand as she passes me.

….

"Don't go in there. The birds -" I remember the birds must be gone, but I still don't want anyone in there. Not even her.

"They can't hurt me. I'm not like the rest of you. There's ho one left I love," Johanna says, and frees her hand with an impatient shake.

Finnick Odair

"President Snow used to ... sell me ... my body, that is," Finnick begins in a flat, removed tone. "I wasn't the only one. If a victor is considered desir-able, the president gives them as a reward or allows people to buy them for an exorbitant amount of money. If you refuse, he kills someone you love. So you do it "

~

I'm left with Haymitch in the rubble, wondering if Finnick's fate would have one day been mine. Why not? Snow could have gotten a really good price for the girl on fire.

Annie Cresta

"You're not leaving me here alone," I say. Because if he dies, I'll never go home, not really. I'll spend the rest of my life in this arena trying to think my way out.

~

"Yeah. Annie's the one who went mad when her district partner got beheaded. Ran off by herself and hid. But an earthquake broke a dam and most of the arena got flooded. She won because she was the best swimmer," says Peeta.

The morphlings

Surely she could afford food, but turned to the morphling just as Haymitch turned to drink, I guess. Everything about her speaks of waste - her body, her life, the vacant look in her eyes.

I revise my suicide plan to slow death by morphling. I will become a yellow-skinned bag of bones, with enormous eyes.

[moethewriter]

You are an absolutely sensational writer!! I am obsessed with all of your fics rn, so amazing!! :)

If possible, please could you write a fic with the angst prompts 6, 20 and 22, with Finnick?

If not no worries! I look forward to reading all your future work <3

Of course I can anon! This one is a long one and almost made me cry, so buckle up and I hope you enjoy! TITLE: The things we love, always sting the most WORD COUNT: 2.3k PAIRING: Finnick Odair x Reader WARNING: Possible character death, talks of killing another person, angst, poison, the whole works! TAGS: Lot's of angst, canon violence, possible poisoning, fighting, possible character death.

A/N: So this was a sad one to write my friends! I hope you enjoy, not beta read as always and I take constructive criticism as per usual! -

You were breathless as you headed towards the jungle with Katniss, Peeta, Mags and Finnick. The fight at the cornucopia had been brutal. Weapons had flown from every direction, and you had fallen into the water. You weren’t the biggest fan of being wet but there wasn’t anything you could do about that now.

You were lost in your own thoughts as you walked further. You had just watched people you had known for years fall in seconds. People you had been friends with … your district partner, Hyvar, had died. You hoped that Johanna, Wiress and Beetee were safe, somewhere they could regroup and find their way to you. You had watched people you had known for years fall in seconds. You just hoped that Johanna, Wiress and Betee had all found one another and were safe as they could be.

The sound of the cannon going off made your body shrivel, almost as if it had transported you back to your own games. You had been sixteen and forced to kill people … kill other children, and that canon was a stark reminder that it wasn’t over yet. It would never be over.

At least you had Finnick, the one person who kept you sane throughout everything. You hadn’t watched his games, your mother not allowing you to watch such senseless acts of violence, she had always been against the games. It was strange to stand side by side with him in this, but you were grateful for his presence.

Another cannon went off.

“Well I guess we're not holding hands anymore.” Finnick chuckled, a small smile spreading across his face. 

“Finnick.” You snapped, trying to shut that thought down. 

Those people were the few in this world who understood what it was like to be a Victor, a pawn for the Capitol. Some of them had been your friends. 

“You think that's funny?” Katniss questioned him, a passive look on her face. You couldn’t quite read her yet, but you knew that she wasn’t happy. 

“Every Time that cannon goes off it’s music to my ears.” Finnick said, as though that should be obvious. He was steady, not swaying, clearly in game mode. “I don’t care about any of them.”

“That’s-” You started …

But Katniss pulled a sword from its sheath.

“Good to hear.” She said, simply, face remaining unchanged. 

“No.” You said raising your hands between them, you were all supposed to be allies … fighting together in this moment. There needed to be some semblance of peace, even if it was tentative and rocky. “We may not like this, but we're allies, right? So let’s act like allies.” You felt as though you were parenting two young stubborn children.

For the first time in a long time you didn’t understand what was going through his head, what was his game here and why hadn’t he talked to you about it? You had been together since you were both eighteen, now twenty four, and while this situation wasn’t ideal … you felt as though he flipped a switch in his mind. This side of him wasn’t something you particularly liked, and you certainly didn’t want to play peacekeeper if they were going to be at each others throats.

“Right.” Finnick said. “Besides, what would Haymitch say?”

“Haymitch isn’t here.” Katniss gritted her teeth.

“Let’s keep moving.” Peeta spoke up, starting to move from his spot.

You were thankful that someone else was level headed.

You all moved deeper into the jungle, silence falling over the group. The sound of crunching leaves, and dirt being the only thing filling the air. Your games had been in a desert terrain, so you felt out of your element. You were used to sand, rocks and dunes covering the earth around you, not thick and lush jungle. At least the trees provided better cover than some rocks, though water was proving just as difficult to find.

After long hours of walking you had found a place to secure Mags so everyone could go off and find some food or water. You weren’t particularly fond of the thought of splitting up, not trusting that Katniss and Peeta would come back, and not trusting yourself alone with Finnick, you were still angry about the interactions on the beach.

You walked with Finnick in silence, eyes and ears peeled for the sound of moving animals or the possible sighting of berries. It felt awkward to be alone with him, but … you loved him, you couldn’t deny that.

“Hey.” Finnick said, grabbing your hand lightly.

“Don’t touch me.” You snapped, anger in your voice. “What the hell was that? Treating Katniss and Peeta that way? Talking about the other tributes like that? They’re our allies, Finnick, don’t fucking play coy with me here. I’m not an idiot and neither are you, maybe try harder?” You sucked in a breath, hoping to calm yourself down,

“Y/N-”

“No. Finnick I love you, I do … just try harder with them, she’s distrustful and we don’t need that.” You said, finally looking at him.. “We don’t need to talk about this right now. I just … just give me some space. I’m angry. I don’t want to be angry with you.” You told him, pinching the bridge of your nose.

The Capitol was watching, Snow was watching. You didn’t need Finnick or yourself sorting through emotional baggage or providing entertainment by fighting for the world to see.

Finnick had a persona, that was something you knew. But that wasn’t Finnick, and what you couldn’t understand is why he didn’t want to be himself. Was it the sponsors? Was it the fact that everyone could see your every move in here? You hadn’t been able to talk much before entering the arena, so you only knew the basis of what he was going to do, and the plan Haymitch had told you.

Gods above, that plan. How in the hell were you going to make sure that Katniss and Peeta got out of this alive if they barely trusted you? There was so much that needed to be done in here, and you couldn’t do it alone. But Finnick was not helping in the slightest, or that’s what you felt like. ,

“Listen …” He tried.

“We should get back to Mags, there isn’t any food here … hopefully they found some water or something.” You sent him a small hopeful look, before turning back towards where you came from.

–

Peeta almost dying was not something that you had accounted for. The forcefield had shot him back out of nowhere, and the amount of time you had all spent desperately trying to help him breathe again had been agony. 

This game felt far worse than anything you had gone through before. It was clear that something was off about the whole arena, you just weren’t sure what it was yet. 

“Do you hear that?” Finnick whispered, looking towards the trees. 

You hadn’t, but you immediately jumped into action and grabbed your sword. You were always on high alert, and you weren’t going to let anything touch anyone here. 

“I’ll go check it out and meet you guys back here, later.” You said, moving to stand. You needed some time to breathe, and protecting everyone was the main priority. In your mind this was a win-win situation. 

“You can’t go alone.” Finnick, protested standing to go with you.

You held up your hand to stop him. “Finn, stay here … protect Mags and everyone else. I can handle myself.” You told him.

You weren’t sure what was out there, no one was, but you had your chosen weapon and a spiteful rage deep within you. You were sure you could handle what was to come.

“Y/N-” He tried to protest again.

“They need protection. I’ll be fine.” You told him, heading off towards the woods on your own. 

You kept low as you crept through the jungle, looking for what could have alerted Finnick. Your eyes barely adjusted to the darkness that surrounded you, a stark contrast to the bright lights of the fire you had been in front of just moments ago. You kept walking, caution lacing every move you made. 

The jungle felt far too quiet as you made your way towards a clearing, how far had you gone from camp? Nothing around you seemed familiar anymore and you weren’t sure why … What the hell was going on?

“Shit!” You felt a small sting in your leg, and looked down … had something stung you? 

You felt dizzy as you braced yourself against a large tree trunk, you couldn’t feel your hands … you couldn’t feel anything?

Your eyes dropped slowly as your body slumped down towards the ground and darkness finally took over

–

“I say, we take them out next.”

“We can’t just do that … they could prove useful … I mean have you seen them with a sword?”

You awoke with a start, heart racing as you looked around … where was Finnick? You moved through the moss and spotted them all around a fire.

“They are useless to everything … the rebellion. Kill them and we get ourselves out of here. They are collateral damage.””

You felt your heart stop …that was Finnick’s voice … and he had to be talking about you, there was no one else you could think of.

“Y/N!”

“That’s smart.”

Peeta? What was going on?

“Good then when they fall asleep tonight that’s when we strike, they won’t know what hit them.”

Finnick’s smirk sent chills down your spine, how could he be doing this? How could he even think about betraying you … didn’t he love you?

“Y/N!”

–

Your eyes fluttered open and you let out a loud scream, throwing yourself away from the blonde man in front of you. Your body was hot, everything around you felt like fire and despite what people thought … you weren’t going down without a fight. Not against anyone, even Finnick. 

“Y/N?! What’s going on? We searched for you all night …we lost Mags … there was fog …” Finnick rambled, his eyes wild and bewildered at the sight of you. He looked like had been crying. 

You knew he was trying to distract you … he had to be. There was no other explanation after what you had seen. He was trying to manipulate you with the use of Mags and the pathetic way he stood. 

“I don’t know who you are anymore, Finnick Odair.” You spat, holding out your sword, stretching it forward as far as you could. “But I heard what you were talking about all night, and I am not going down without a fight, you think I’m going to sit here and talk about bullshit then you’re so wrong.” Your hands were shaking, your whole body trembled in fear.

Your head hurt, and your body felt light … something had happened in the forest and you weren’t sure what did … but there was no way you were losing your life to someone you thought you loved, and who you thought loved you.

“Y/N? What the hell is going on? What happened in those woods?” Finnick questioned, a look of concern filling his face.

“Like I’d tell you anything!” You snapped, raising the sword a little higher. “You proved last night that you didn't love or care about me! You just want me dead!” You cried, tears falling from your eyes

“What?! Of course I love you! We came to find you, you had been gone for an hour! I was worried. Finnick cried, his own tears falling down his cheeks. “We only just got to you because last night we were chased by swarming monkeys and almost died due to poisonous fog?! How could you have heard anything we said, you were miles away! We searched high nd low!!” Finnick cried, trying to reach his hands out to you.

“Any closer and I’ll put this sword through your heart.” Your own heart was racing, unsure of what to believe anymore … you felt dazed and confused and disorientated, nothing felt real anymore. 

“Don’t you trust me?” Finnick whispered, heartbreak lacing every word that he spoke.

“I don’t know.” You sobbed.

Your body felt like it was on fire, every inch you moved was agony … you were going to die in here whether it was by Finnick or something else taking you out. You weren’t going to make it to the rebellion.

Loud sobs echoed through the forest as you dropped to your knees, body finally giving out on you.

Finnick was over to you in seconds, not caring if you fought him off with knives or threats of violence. He pulled you to his chest and you trembled against him, sweat lacing your brows.

“It’s okay … It’s okay. I got you.” Finnick whispered, rocking you both. “God Y/N I can’t lose you in here, I can’t. I lost Mags already, you have to fight whatever happens. You have to know that I love you.” He sobbed, holding you as close as possible. 

“I can’t” You thrashed desperately trying to pull away from him, out of fear or something else, you didn’t know. “I can’t!” 

“Please.” Finnick begged, keeping his grip on you.

You stopped fighting in that moment, letting yourself fall against him, your body felt numb and you didn’t think you had it in you to keep going. 

“Y/N?”

The sky seemed bluer in that moment as you looked towards it, it was gorgeous as the sun shone through the trees. Finnick’s face filled your vision and you felt a warmth overtake you … you were safe … you had to be … he didn’t really want to kill you did he?

“I love you.” Finnick said, voice hoarse as his hand traced the edges of your face. “Please stay.”

“I love you.”  You told him.

The jungle was quiet again, too quiet despite the long eventful night and the only thing that could be heard was the sound of cannon fire in the air.

[sameschmidtdiffname]

If anything were to ever be released from Peeta's POV during the series, I think what I would be most interested in is what was going through his head during The Mockingjay Trial.

Peeta's thoughts during Mockingjay as a whole would be interesting. Peeta is ultimately cunning. We all joke about how Peeta would've ran 13 if he'd been the one that was saved, but I can't imagine Snow was having a particularly fun time with him either. Peeta knows how to communicate with the Capitol. I wonder if part of the reason Peeta was abused so horribly was not to torture Katniss, but because it's very possible there was a real possibility Peeta could've won the war from the inside by turning Snow's people against him with his own personal showmanship. "If it weren't for the baby" is a perfect example of how capable Peeta could be of doing just that.

I imagine once Peeta begins to regain his mind, it doesn't take long for him to realize the multiple problems that exist within president Coin. The problems Gale decided not to acknowledge in the proper manner.

Gale and Katniss are incredibly close. Now, I know we all like to poke our fun at Gale, (I'm definitely guilty of it,) but Gale is a genuinely complex character. He was a kid too. That doesn't take away from how he still did wrong, but you cannot look at him from a black and white lense when legitimately viewing his character. He does have depth.

Gale and Katniss are close because they are similar. They lose their fathers in the same accident, they learn to survive the same way. Katniss speaks throughout the series of how similar they are. It would not at all be impossible for Peeta to assume Katniss was radicalized the same way Gale was since he remembers their relationship despite the hijacking.

I think this is what hurts Peeta the most during the voting for the final Hunger Games. Peeta is at a severe disadvantage to reading Katniss still. His mind is better, and most likely he had already begun therapy in seriousness and was already improving mentally. But he and Katniss have not begun to grow back together yet. He no longer has access to her obvious tells. And yes, Katniss's thoughts are obvious to her inner circle. To everyone else, she is a mystery. Katniss loves him, but he is no longer in her inner circle at this point.

I don't think Peeta would realize the truth of Katniss's vote until she shoots Coin instead of Snow, which I think is the point for many to realize the amount of deep set problems there truly were with Coin. Most of the time it takes someone doing something extreme to make people pause and think.

Peeta is already having to put the pieces back together in his mind about Katniss. I think The Mockingjay Trial would probably be the tipping point of Peeta's recovery due to the testimonies, the evaluations. Something I've wondered is if Peeta was even allowed to testify since he had been hijacked. Honestly, I would assume that he wasn't. Leaving him off to the sidelines, forced to watch as someone he knows he used to be close to be examined live for the nation to see, to be picked and torn apart. I imagine that maybe the general public was not allowed to see any footage, but based off of Plutarchs offer for Katniss to be on a new singing program during their final conversation in 'Mockingjay,' it seems Katniss was correct in thinking there was most likely a live broadcast of her in the Training Center available to watch. Most likely Haymitch was allowed a peak. And through Haymitch, probably Peeta. I don't think it would be until the entire nation is forced to learn the "truth" about The Mockingjay that Peeta has the same moment as Katniss has in 'The Hunger Games,' when suddenly he realizes just how much he does know about her.

I would think this time would be when Peeta and Haymitch also make peace with their relationship as well. Most likely there were probably a few, very hard to have conversations between the two of them during the trial. About Katniss, about Haymitch's promise to both of them during 'Catching Fire,' about being unable to save him.

Peeta returns to District 12 at the earliest opportunity allowed. Probably for a few reasons. It's his home, it is ultimately where he belongs. But I also think there's probably a very large part of him that wants confirmation for what he's sure he already knew. Her thoughts when shooting Coin. When she voted yes. I think The Mockingjay Trial is probably when Peeta decided he wanted to be her friend again. That it was when he finally remembered her. And I'd just really like to see that, even as a short story.

[rose-pearls]

That's the kind of heartbreak time could never mend - Part 9

Previous Part - Final Part

The hovercraft was silent as it flew through the night, all of the people that had passed the evaluation were now on their way to fight. Peeta wasn’t with you, and you couldn’t help but feel like you were sticking out like a sore thumb. Katniss wasn’t on the hovercraft either with the rest of you and you were trying to figure out why she wasn’t allowed to. 

“I can hear you thinking.”, a soft voice whispers and you turn around to see Finnick, smiling at you softly.

“Just feeling slightly confused at Coin’s choices.”, you can’t help but tell him, knowing that you could trust him.

“I know what you mean, however we can’t really say anything. I’m just hoping she knows what she is doing.”, he tells you, looking at you with a worried look in his eyes. You knew that he hadn’t been incredibly happy to know that you were getting dragged back into combat when your memory was still in crumbles.

“I’ll be fine, don’t waste your energy on worrying about me.”, you whisper and Finnick scoffs at your words, looking around you before looking back at you and coming closer to you.

“I think I will always worry about you, it’s like a second nature.”, he tells you, his eyes full of honesty and you can’t help but feel slightly breathless at the sight of it.

“Landing in ten minutes, get ready.”, you hear Boggs says in the distance and Finnick smiles at you before going back to his assigned seat. Leaving you there looking at him, wanting to stop him and say something to him but you are unable to.

You have been unable to really say anything to him since you kissed him in the hallway after the evaluation, feeling confused about everything you felt. Finnick hadn’t tried to force you to tell him why you kissed him, but you could see the longing in his eyes.

The camp is already set up as you arrive, and Boggs quickly sends you to makeshift tents to get you bags ready for the afternoon. Johanna helps you get your weapons ready and as you get out of the tent you see Katniss arrive.

“Katniss?”, you hear Finnick ask before he brings her into a hug, the sight of them brings a sour taste in your mouth but you try to swallow down the lump in your throat.

“Soldier Everdeen will join our squad.”, Boggs says while coming with a couple of other soldiers. 

“Now, you are a star squadron. This means that we aren’t really going to fight, we are just going to film some shots and stay into safety. Is that clear?”, Katniss doesn’t look pleased with the fact that you aren’t going into battle, but you can’t help but feel grateful of the fact you won’t have to fight immediately.

The card of the Capitol appears before your eyes, all of the traps are shown on the map, and you feel sick at the sight of it.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 76th hunger Games.”, you hear Finnick whisper at Katniss and you can’t help but feel jealous at the sight of them looking so close to each other. 

Shaking your head to try and shake the feelings away but it doesn’t seem to work. The nightlock pill is in your jacket and you can’t help but look at the little pocket where it sits, not knowing what was going to happen in there.

The streets are ruins, everything in rumbles as you walk along the streets wondering how you were ever going to make it out of this. The beeping of the pad makes you look up and quickly the group is gets moved behind the large statue.

“You need to shoot between the buildings.”, Boggs orders Katniss and before she can get there Cressida orders everyone around for the filming. The arrow flies smoothly between the two and for a second you wonder if something is going to happen when flames appear, burning everything between them to the ground. 

A car suddenly falls out of the fire making you flinch at the sound of it and Johanna quickly puts a hand on your shoulder. 

“It’s too far to hurt you.”, she whispers, and you nod quickly at her words, trying to get your breathing under control. Finnick is looking at you worryingly, but you send him a shaky smile hoping to reassure him.

--

A car arrives as you are all sitting down and as you get ready to go see what is happening a hand keeps you from moving.

“What?”, you can’t help but ask Gale as he stops you.

“You should stay here it isn’t safe.”, he tells you before walking towards the car himself and you can’t help but scoff, wondering who did he think he was. You get ready to step towards the car once again, but Finnick comes in front of you, making you look at him in frustration.

“I can defend myself.”, you tell him and Finnick smiles at your words, opening his mouth to answer you but before he can you hear a name.

“Peeta?”, you hear Katniss say and you look at Finnick in surprise, meeting his equally surprised gaze before going towards the rest of the group.

Gale has his weapon drawn and Peeta is just staying there, defenseless like he is waiting for Gale to shoot him.

“Hey! Get your weapons down.”, you tell the rest of the group before going towards Peeta, who seems relieved at the sight of you. He looks frightened, like an animal getting ready for slaughter and you take him into a hug.

“It’s okay.”, you whisper and Peeta nods at your words, Jackson follows you and gives you the restrains he had in district thirteen, telling you it’s for precaution.

“They want to show that he is on our side.”, Boggs explains as he finishes radioing Coin.

“He isn’t in control of himself.”, Gale says, looking at Peeta like he is just a piece of dirt.

“Neither am I and yet I haven’t heard you say anything. Or are you just saying it behind my back?”, the room falls silent at your words while you glare at Gale. He seems to want to say something, but Jackson interrupts him.

“We will surveil him around the clock, to make sure nothing happens.”, the rest of the squad nods but Katniss seems to want to say something.

“Put me on a timeslot for the watch.”, Jackson seems unsure and turns to look at Peeta for a moment before looking back at Katniss.

“Could you kill him if you needed to?”

“I wouldn’t be killing Peeta, I would just be killing a Capitol mutt.”, the words are cold, and you can’t help but scoff at her words, feeling anger at the way she just throws him so carelessly away after everything he did for her.

“That’s a great way to talk about your supposedly fiancé.”, you tell her, and Katniss looks at you like she wants to kill you.

“He tried-”, she starts but you don’t let her finish her words.

“Don’t. He was tortured by the Capitol because of you, and I don’t know why anyone is trying to sugarcoat it for you like they have been sugarcoating every single thing. But he got tortured and got his memories taken away from him and transformed because he was in love with you. And if he hadn’t been he wouldn’t have had to suffer like this. So, get off your high horse and show some respect.”, you tell her, she is looking at you furiously and you wonder if she is going to hit you, but Finnick comes between the two of you.

“Alright, why don’t we calm down, you come with me.”, Finnick doesn’t even let you disagree before taking you with him further away from the group but not before you hear Johanna agree at your statement.

“What was that?”, Finnick whispers, his voice hard and you can’t help but scoff.

“What was what? She was acting like she was so much better than him.”, you try to tell him, but Finnick doesn’t let you finish.

“She has a right to feel like this, and sure she isn’t handling it in the best way but yelling at her isn’t the right solution.”, he says, and you can’t help but scoff.

“Of course, you take her side, everyone does. Everyone is doing everything she wants, and no one reacts when she doesn’t follow orders.”, Finnick sighs at your words and closes his eyes.

“Jealousy is not a good look on you.”, his eyes are closed off, anger in them and you can’t help but feel helpless at the sight of it but the anger cursing in your veins is stronger.

“Jealous? Of her? I am just sick of the favoritism, and you seem to think she is so much better than everyone else.”, you tell him, sick of hearing him defending her.

“Why don’t we talk when you are calmed down.”, he tells you before leaving, leaving you there feeling furious, tears in your eyes at Finnick just leaving like that.

--

You hear them whisper to each other before your eyes open and as you try to adjust your eyesight to the dark you hear Peeta starting to get worked up.

“I just don’t know what’s real and what isn’t.”, Peeta says after a moment, his voice sounding defeated, and you can’t help but want to protect him, like you did when you were kids.

“Then ask it.”, Finnick says after a moment and you turn to look at him, he is looking at you for a moment before turning back to Peeta and explaining him what he means.

Katniss starts helping Peeta until it gets too much, and she leaves, sitting down next to Gale and you try not to look at a defeated Peeta.

--

The next morning is rough, Peeta losing his mind and throwing someone to his death and losing Boggs in the chaos of it all. Jackson seems to lose it a bit but Katniss and Finnick manage to convince her to give Katniss the pad. 

The apartment you enter is large, and looks like it hasn’t been lived in for a bit of time as dust has settled in. Peeta is sitting on the staircase, and you decide to give him a moment alone, sitting down on the couch.

Caesar Flickermann’s voice is what makes you sit upright, the images of all of you this morning appearing. 

“We are happy to tell you that the rebels have been killed.”, Finnick chuckles at Caesar’s words and you look at him for a moment. You hadn’t been able to talk with him since your disagreement and you didn’t know how to approach him.

“We need to find a way to use this to our advantage.”, Johanna says, and you all agree for a moment, thinking before Peeta’s voice comes behind you.

“Gale’s right, you should’ve killed me. I’m just a mutt.”, you turn to see him looking heartbroken, the images of this morning must’ve hit him hard.

“Peeta.”, you whisper, and the boy shakes his head at you.

“No, I killed that man. You should give me a nightlock pill so that I can end it if I get too dangerous.”, his voice is breaking, and you want to go to him and reassure him.

“If it gets to that point, I’ll shoot you myself.”, Gale says, and you look at him with badly hidden disgust. You knew he wasn’t a fan of Peeta but just saying that was a bit too far for your taste.

“Let’s find a way to get to the mansion.”, Katniss says after a moment and you all turn to look at the pad, to find the best way.

--

The tunnels are old and have definitely had better days as you walk through them. The walk is long and tiring but as you finally manage to find a place to stay for rest of the night you can’t help but feel unsafe.

“Can we talk?”, you hear Finnick whisper, and you turn to look at him, he seems to be unsure of what to say.

“Of course.”, he sits down next to you and lets out a sigh, closing his eyes before looking at you.

“What happened back then?”, he asks you directly and you appreciate him not turning around the pot.

“I don’t know, I guess I didn’t appreciate you defending Katniss like that.”, you tell him, your voice small and Finnick sighs.

“There is nothing between her and me. I just didn’t like the way you immediately attacked her.”, he tells you after a moment of thinking and you nod at his words.

“I know but she was just saying these things about Peeta, and I couldn’t listen to them.”, Finnick let’s out a frustrated sigh at your words and you look at him confused for a moment.

“Peeta again.”, he whispers under his breath, looking annoyed and you turn to look at him confused.

“What does that mean?”, Finnick looks at Peeta for a moment who seems to be talking with Katniss, but you only look at Finnick.

“It means that you have been with him this whole time, spending more time with him then you have with me.”, you can’t help but feel like it’s an accusation.

“That’s not true, I spend time with you. But he doesn’t have anyone Finnick, and I know him since we’ve been kids. He has been helping me remember things.”, Finnick closes his eyes, and he lets out a sigh at your words.

“But why don’t you come to me to help you remember things? I’m the one you were in love with and now it feels like you rather be with him. You spent some time with me and when we finally get close again you close off like something bad is going to happen.”, the words are painful to hear, and you can’t help but feel a familiar pang in your chest at his words.

“Finnick, I never wanted to hurt you. I’m just confused when things happen between the two of us and I need a moment to understand what is happening.”, Finnick nods at your words but he doesn’t seem convinced.

“Then tell me that, communicate with me. Fight with me if you have to, tell me what you need to say to me but don’t disappear.”, he tells you and you nod at his words, feeling tears in your eyes.

“I’m sorry.”, you whisper, hoping that he understands you never meant to hurt him and that you care for him more then you could ever tell him.

“I think we maybe need some time apart. Maybe that will help you with your memory and figuring things out.”, he looks pained to say the words and you feel sick at the implication of them.

“Finnick, please don’t do this.”, he closes his eyes, a painful expression crossing his face and you take his hand in yours.

“I know it’s taking more times than we thought it would, but I know that I care for you and maybe more than that.”, Finnick shakes his head at your words.

“You need to figure things out on your own and then, when you did do that, we’ll talk. It doesn’t mean that I don’t love you anymore, but it means that I’m putting myself first. I can’t do this.”, you don’t even have time to say anything before he kisses your forehead softly and leaves.

He had told you he would never give up on you, never leave you and here he was letting you go. Johanna’s hands take yours in hers and you let her whisper some reassuring words, but it doesn’t stop the tears from rolling down your cheeks after a moment. 

--

“Katniss.”, a voice whispers, the voice continues to whisper her name and all of you get up to see what it is.

“Mutts!”, someone yells and next thing you know Johanna drags you into a tunnel, water seeping into your clothes as you run away from the mutts.

The water is heavy against your tired limbs and as you run through the corridors, trying to wrap your head around what was happening you arrive in a larger room. A ladder leading you out of the tunnel, or so you suppose. 

The rest of the squadron arrives and before you can say anything to each other the mutts arrive, and you start fighting. It had been a long time since you had to fight against moving things but after a moment you get the hang of it.

Finnick seems to be handling himself well against the mutts, but you can’t help but look at him to make sure he is alright. Peeta manages to get a mutt away from you while you shoot one behind him dead. 

The squad starts moving towards the platform to get out and as you get ready to do the same thing you see a mutt going towards Finnick, he is too busy killing a mutt trying to kill Peeta to see it.

The mutt nearly manages to grab him, but you shoot it down before it can get to him. Peeta climbs on the platform while you try to kill another one, ignoring your hurt shoulder. 

“We need to go.”, Finnick says, and you nod your head at his words.

“Go first, I’ll cover.”, you tell him and Finnick seems unsure before killing a mutt and going up on the platform. 

You follow him and as he gets upstairs you can’t help but feel lighter knowing he is in safety. You shoot a couple of times towards the mutts before quickly trying to climb the ladder and just as you think you will be fine a sharp pain in your side makes you yell out in pain. Finnick screams your name, but you are gripping the ladder tightly and before you can do anything to kill the mutt yourself a gunshot gets heard and the mutt falls in the water.

You try to move your body and ignore your blurry vision until you are up there. Katniss helps you out of there before tossing the pad to make sure they are dead.

Finnick is by your side in an instant, looking over you in a frenzy, but the only thing you can do is lie down. The pain is too much as you move to lie down, and you groan in pain. Everyone is talking to each other, but you can’t hear them, your vision getting blurry as the pain takes over every single one of your senses. 

“Hey, hey.”, you hear Finnick say before his face comes into your sight.

“Stay with me.”, he whispers, and you look at him for a moment, not knowing what to say as he looks frightened.

“It’s okay.”, you whisper but Finnick lets out a choked sob at your words.

“Please don’t leave me, stay.”, he takes your head in his hands and you smile at him softly.

“I’m sorry.”, you whisper, and he shakes his head, mumbling under his breath.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t remember us sooner. Maybe I don’t remember a lot, but I fell for you through the past few weeks, the way you were always there for me, unwavering.”, Finnick has tears rolling down his cheeks as you smile at him lovingly.

“You are so much more then you think you are Finnick, and you deserve the world, you deserve the best things anyone could offer you.”, you whisper and take on if his hands in yours.

“I don’t want all of that I just want you.”, he manages to say, and you nod slowly.

“I’m right here handsome.”, Finnick shakes his head at your words, and you squeeze his hand.

“Please don’t leave me.”, he whispers as he comes closer to you, his forehead against yours and you bring a shaky hand to his hair.

“Never, I’ll always be there. Can’t get rid of me, remember?”, Finnick chuckles at your words, a sob follows it, but you ignore it as you caress his hair softly.

“I’m sorry for earlier, I love you so much.”, he tells you and you nod in answer, feeling tired.

“I know, I love you too.”, you tell him, and he lets out a wounded sound.

“Help is on the way, just stay a bit longer.”, he tells you and you look into his blue green eyes for a moment.

“I’m so tired Finnick.”, he nods in understanding and squeezes your hand.

“I know, just a bit longer darling.”, you nod slowly, unable to move more. You feel your eyes flutter close, Finnick’s hand is still holding yours tightly, but you feel yourself falling asleep.

“Please don’t - please don’t leave me. We still have so much to do.”, Finnick mumbles over and over again willing you to stay awake. 

He feels you squeezing his hand and he kisses you softly, hoping that it will keep you with him just a bit longer. Medics arrive as your hand starts to feel loose in his and they push him back to get to you. 

Johanna takes him in her arms as he starts sobbing in her arms, tears are falling down her cheeks as she tries to reassure him. 

“She is a fighter, she will be fine.”, she tells him over and over again hoping that Finnick and herself will believe it at one point.

--

The room is filled with mentors, moving from one place to another and he finds her there, looking at her screen looking frightened. 

“First day is always the hardest.”, he whispers, and she turns around, looking at him in surprise.

“Finnick! It’s good to see you.”, she seems shy and Finnick can’t help but smile at the sight of her wide eyes and a soft blush on her cheeks. 

“Good to see you too darling.”, the words roll of his tongue and her blush gets darker. Haymitch interrupts them before Finnick or her can say anything else but Finnick winks at her as she looks back at him a smile on her lips.

-

“You’re beautiful you know that?”, Finnick asks you and you hear yourself chuckling in response.

“Just beautiful?”, you ask him, teasingly and Finnick chuckles at your words.

“No, much more but we would be here for years if I had to say every single thing, I love about you.”, a blush appears on your cheeks at his words and Finnick smiles lovingly in response.

“Aren’t you the romantic.”, you whisper back and Finnick chuckles before bringing you into a sweet kiss, making sure that you know just how much he loves you.

“We need to get out of bed at some point.”, you whisper a few moments later and Finnick shushes you, holding you tighter to his chest.

“We don’t, let’s stay here for the rest of the day.”, he whispers, and you he can feel your smile on his collarbone before he feels a soft kiss there.

“Good plan.”, Finnick lets out a happy sigh as he closes his eyes and holds you close, telling himself that one day he’ll marry you.

You probably hate me right now but hopefully you liked it! There will be one last part after this!

Taglist: @nobody7102, @universal-s1ut, @wannapizzamymindposts, @ladyfiction, @readingb, @capswife, @bela-nov, @zendayabelova, @iwanttoleavekudos, @afraidofshrimp, @simpinformunson, @callsign-haze, @agent-grey-fics, @wolfiealina, @slytherpuffh0e, @certifiedsimp14, @sherlockstrangewolf

[daughter-of-melpomene]

Odd asks from this game for Anastasia?

Ooooh, thank you so much for this!! Also gonna tag the other Hunger Games moots, @luucypevensie, @ginevrastilinski-ocs, @dancingsunflowers-ocs, and @endless-oc-creations!! <3 (Also gonna put some of these under a cut because there are a lot of answers.)

Do they believe in ghosts? Have they ever experienced anything unexplained?

She didn’t believe in ghosts before becoming a victor, but now she definitely does. Although she’s never experienced anything supernatural firsthand, it’s hard for her not to imagine that the ghosts of the tributes she killed are still around, unable to move on because she took their lives so brutally, haunting her every step.

What’s their favorite dessert or candy?

She never had much of a taste for sweets as a child - she wasn’t really allowed to eat any once she started her tribute training, anyway - but after the rebellion’s over and Peeta starts teaching her to bake, she develops a big sweet tooth for all kinds of cookies.

Do they like spending holidays alone, with family, or at parties with friends?

There aren’t a lot of holidays in Panem anyway, but as a child she was pretty much forced to spend any special occasions at big parties with all of her parents’ politician friends. After becoming a victor, she preferred to spend all of her time alone no matter what day it was, not really believing that she deserved the comfort of being around other people, but after the Capitol is defeated and she settles into a quiet life with Katniss and Peeta, she definitely likes to spend every moment she can with them, including special days.

Do they like corn mazes, hay rides, or apple picking, or any other autumn activities?

Most of these aren’t really designated fun activities in Panem, but after settling into domestic life with her partners, she definitely find that she loves to go apple picking every season. It’s just a fun, quiet, calm way to spend time with her partners, and besides that she finds there are few better things than taking the first bite of a perfectly ripe apple.

Have they ever played a spooky game, like Bloody Mary or used a Ouija board?

I don’t really think they’d have those kinds of things in the Hunger Games universe, but if we imagine a modern AU, then she probably would have tried the Bloody Mary game once as a child, just for fun, and been disappointed when nothing happened.

If they suddenly had a whole day free to themselves, what would they do with it?

I don’t really think she’d want to do anything by herself - she’s spent enough time alone and suffering, and thus wants to spend every moment with the people she’s come to love. She’d probably spend the day helping Peeta with any cooking or baking that needed to be done, doing chores around the house, maybe going to visit Haymitch and Effie if she can, and preferably ending the day by curling up in front of a fire with her partners and falling asleep to the sounds of their breathing.

Would they rather trick-or-treat or hand out candy to children?

If we imagine a modern AU where Halloween and trick-or-treating was still around, she’d probably prefer handing out the candy. It would do her good to be able to give something sweet to some children, and see them happy and laughing and innocent.

Have they ever dressed up for Halloween? What’s their favorite costume?

Given that Halloween doesn’t really exist in the Hunger Games universe, she wouldn’t have ever dressed up for it, but even if it did, I don’t really think she’d be big on dressing up for it anyway.

What do they think about pranks?

She’s not opposed to them as a thing, but she probably wouldn’t pull any of her own unless someone else convinced her to, and she will absolutely eviscerate you if you try to pull one that could potentially trigger someone who might have trauma.

What would be their plan or weapon of choice in a zombie apocalypse or alien invasion?

Thankfully victors of the Hunger Games would be uniquely qualified for a zombie apocalypse because of their experience with survival skills, so Anastasia’s plan would be for her, Katniss, and Peeta to find some other former victors if they could and band together to rescue other survivors and eventually find a place for shelter where they could be safe and easily fend off any kind of invaders. And her weapon of choice, of course, would be her double knives, likely paired with a bow and arrows or a spear of some sort for fights where she can’t be too close to her opponent.

What role would they be in a horror movie (final girl, the jock, etc.)?

I mean… there is definitely a non-zero chance that she’d be the killer. But if she wasn’t, then Anastasia is one hundred percent final girl material.

What’s their craft of choice (sewing, painting, etc.)?

She takes up a form of sewing as it relates to first aid during the rebellion, but even afterwards she definitely finds that she really likes doing it just to keep herself calm and give her hands something to do. After she, Katniss, and Peeta settle into their lives after the rebellion, she definitely becomes the go-to clothing mender in their household.

autumn-inspired oc questions!!

[zenkor123]

When Katniss protested coin's resource allocations Coin said

"The most you've done with citizen Mellark is spar with him and avoid him, we in 13 that have done all the work in bringing the boy to the point that he can contribute to District 13 it is too late for you, you had your chance Soldier Everdeen, he needed you more then then today he does not need you anymore, now he will serve us well and we shall be there for him when he needs us. His recovery cannot depend on an unstable girl that he was conditioned to kill, I believe that waiting for you to step up and provide him with his remaining recoverable memories has only set him back.

When Katniss raised security concerns Coin just chuckled and said "that's not your problem we know the ins and out of Peeta and we shall ensure everyone's safety, I recommend you keep a safe distance from Citizen Mellark however."

"I will do that, for the sake of my larynx!" Katniss snaps.

"All the wasted money that went into memory restoration will now go in episode control and truama therapy, he will have guards who will control tech such as Betee's incapacitor device and elastic cuffs that harden at the press of the button"

"I hope that will be enough I dont want to be killed in my sleep",

Katniss walks out, Coin says "memories are only to be discussed in the doctors room, all discussions of memories is forbidden by decree, I have authorized the guards to use physically force to keep Peeta from having episodes, that includes all talk of his past"

Katniss mutters "that won't be necessary" and her walk becomes a run as she storms out.

Katniss resolves never to see Peeta again and what little hope she has that Peeta will come back to her is quashed. She intensifies her efforts to kill Snow. She knows as soon as she sees Peeta that this stranger is not him that Peeta is dead. Yet deep down she is forced to accept what she knows that Coin is right, Peeta deserves better them her, she thinks.Later that evening Haymitch informed her that the hospital was no longer giving him updates as to Peeta's condition. Katniss wished she could tell coin that no one told her she was so essential to Peeta's recovery.

Signs indicated that he was much changed, drinking morphling when old Peeta called him a drunkard, calling himself a mutation, and acting indifferent around her, outward signs like painting his leg, and baking did not change this fact to Katniss.

Her relationship with Johanna deteriorated into fights where they released a barrage of cutting insults at each other. Peeta was always around Finnick and Annie.

For 3 days training was a refuge for Katniss where she didn't have to think about Peeta, until Peeta came armed with a gun she felt very unsafe around him and he did around her. She was furious and glared at Peeta who had a look of pity, disgust, indifference and vigilance. Her shift on the first day was short to Katniss's relief but she had a longer shift on the 5th.

Peeta did not let her break eye contact and pointed his gun at her while Katniss loaded her bow, before being told to put it down. Peeta stared at her, his eyes daring her to shoot him, and he didn't allow her to look at anything else. Katniss was sweating, while Peeta's face was unchanging, would this be a daily occurrence? she asked to herself. Peeta finally broke the silence and told her "I ate human flesh Katniss."

Her anxiety increased so much that she ran off and took deep breaths, panting "no, no!" Peeta complained to Finnick about how Katniss wanted to kill her. Katniss had enough and told Peeta she had no intention of killing him. Peeta looked surprised and relieved, and assured Katniss that he felt the same way, his eyes no longer filled with anger and fear and he allowed Katniss to break eye contact with him. With Peeta's cannibalism revealed Katniss had never been more determined to kill Snow.

[captainseaweedbrains]

It's Reaping Day! May the odds be ever in your favor.

Do you think it’s significant that the Reaping is on USA's Independence Day?

Do you think Reaping of 74th Hunger Games is rigged? Yes/No? Why?

If the reaping could be rigged. Who do you think participate in this collaboration?

Thank you :)

@curiousnonny

Buckle up, friend, because I have ~thoughts:

Do you think it’s significant that the Reaping is on USA's Independence Day?

I absolutely do. Collins pulls a lot of characteristics from Colonial America when it comes to the framing of Panem. The most telling is her choice of there being 13 districts in place of the 13 original American colonies, especially if you think of it being like cleaning the slate and starting over. North America (which the series uses, so I have to think part of Canada is part of Panem) is gone and in its place is this brand new country that will allow for new and "better" choices to be made. Then having one small percentage of the population (Capitol/England) rule over large groups, exploiting for own personal needs. And it's deliciously poetic that the day many Americans consider "freedom day" is the day Panem citizens are fully stripped of their freedoms as they are annually forced to sacrifice twenty-four children in this televised death battle retribution for trying to be free.

While obviously the rebellion we see in the series and the American Revolution are very different, they hit similar marks of abuse colonists and people in the districts suffered. Revolutions all carry similar characteristics (When I was an Education Major, I wrote up lesson plans using The Hunger Games as a tool discussing historical revolutions like the American and Russian revolutions), and Collins chose one of the most well-known ones to base her dystopian country in. As the series is definitely discussing modern American culture with classism (A HUGE characteristic in the building of revolutions) and the exploitation of children, it doesn't surprise me in the least Collins chose this particular war to base her war theory around.

Do you think Reaping of 74th Hunger Games is rigged? Yes/No? Why?

No. Not in Twelve, at least. Katniss states numerous times that District 12 is considered the unfavorable district, the losers who are pretty much left alone to starve and work. Why would the Capitol care at that point to purposely pull Prim and Peeta's names? Prim wasn't the only 12-year-old girl in District 12, and according to Katniss and Johanna, everyone adores Prim. The Capitol couldn't have predicted what Katniss would do because volunteering wasn't the norm in 12, and until Katniss started "shining" in the Capitol, she was an absolute nobody in a relatively large, divided country. She (and Peeta) became a problem when singing to Rue, when pulling out the berries and choosing to die than to play the Capitol's twisted games.

The 75th was absolutely rigged to get rid of her, but by having Prim's name pulled, when she had a singular slip among likely thousands, it shows that the system is not fair. Nor will it ever be fair. It's to show the cruelty of the reaping system and to show that no one is safe, no matter how hard you try, as Katniss expresses in that moment.

Having it be anything purposeful defeats what Collins is trying to convey here: that no one is safe in this system.

If the reaping could be rigged. Who do you think participate in this collaboration?

The reaping and Games are used for the sole purpose of controlling people. So when it's rigged, it's likely to put unruly victors in line (I firmly believe Annie was reaped for her original Games because of Finnick) or to stir up drama and excitement for the Capitol when it's a child of a victor. Katniss suspects this in the series.

[comshipbracket]

Antis DNI

Propaganda for both ships provided under the cut

Hayniss (Age Gap - Ages not provided)

"These two are kindred spirits. They both survived the games using their wits and then cope with the aftermath using their hardened hearts.

This ship is tragic because not only is it questionable to society due to the age gap and dynamics, but they also could never be together because Katniss is forced into a fabricated relationship with another victor of the games, Peeta, for the sake of preserving the Capitol's image in allowing the two of them to survive the games.

You see, Peeta and Katniss have to portray their refusal to kill each other as an act of love rather than the act of defiance it really was. Meanwhile, Haymitch, as Katniss' (and Peeta's) mentor, has to be one of ones orchestrating said romance behind the scenes as part of what is essentially her PR team.

Haymitch has to instruct Katniss, this cold hearted and brash girl who warmed his soul and reminded him of who the real enemy is, on how exactly to convince others she's in love with someone who isn't him. I think this is all also poetic and tragic in a sense, as she's the first tribute he really tried to help win the games in a long time. He sees himself in her, he's protective of her, and you can't tell me he doesn't love her."

SeymourxTwoey Propaganda (Species Difference, Abusive Dynamic)

"Twoey is the least interesting part of the movie in canon for me, but I find him much more interesting when I think of him/write him as simultaneously being a voice in Seymour's head, a physical manifestation of his intrusive thoughts/mental health struggles, and an independently alive/conscious, mute alien plant. This way of conceptualizing him is weird and contradictory by design, partially because it makes him and his dynamic with Seymour interesting and complicated and partially because it raises questions as to where he ends and Seymour begins and just generally adds a lot of weight and edge to Seymour's self doubt/loathing, which is his fatal flaw in my rewrite where one of the changes is that Seymour is a tragic Shakespearean hero. Most of my specific thoughts on this ship don't make sense without the context of my rewrite, but I like the ideas of Seymour literally getting screwed by the physical manifestation of his mental health issues (which he is consenting to due to his drive to torture himself/self hatred manifesting in this case as psuedo-sexual attraction towards a being that is manipulating/abusing him, has the potential to cause him great physical harm/pain, and is named after/heavily associated with his crush), having a sexual relationship with a being that he has a sort-of father-son dynamic with when he himself was abused by his sort-of father, and 'accusing' (in quotes because he isn't actually mad at her and doesn't think she did anything morally wrong, he also doesn't communicate with her about this because he's terrible at communicating with her) Audrey of seeking out abusive guys when he is literally doing that. Technically the version of Seymour x Audrey in my rewrite is extremely comship as well, but it's not in canon, and Seymour x Twoey is also fun, so I'm submitting it even though the Little Shop fandom has like five people in it and most of them don't even like Seymour x Twoey."

[lythea-creation]

Broken Toys - Johanna Mason x fem reader (Chapter 21)

Chapter 1

Previous Chapter

word count: 2.259

-------------------

“How's Johanna doing?”, Katniss asked me during training.

The others could not keep up with our shooting skills.

“She's mostly asleep”, I enlightened her. “I feel guilty. I should stay with her instead of training and going to war. She trained so hard to join the battle and now she's not allowed to and to top it all I leave her behind again to fight alongside you. The last time I did that, she ended up in the Capitol”, I burst out and missed my shot.

Katniss took my gun from me. “Maybe you should put that aside when you're upset”, she advised me. “Did you talk with her about it? Honestly is it possible for you to talk to her without it ending in a discussion?”

“Johanna can be considerate. But the sedatives are suppressing her emotions. She can't think clearly. I barely recognize her right now.”

“I know what you mean”, she mumbled.

Peeta.

“You were right when you said that the 76th Hunger Games would be different”, I stated.

She sent me a questioning look.

“We're up against more opponents and not against children. Everyone has decided to fight and hasn't been forced to. There can be more than one survivor and this year we can turn into true victors not just survivors.”

“And Snow is a tribute too”, Katniss added with a smile.

“Exactly. He may have won all the previous games, but his torments have only strengthened us more. It's like he trained us himself to beat him in the end.”

I grinned at that thought and continued training.

My group was actually really good.

Katniss was almost as skilled with her gun as she was with bow and arrow.

Gale was using a special crossbow and Finnick had gotten a special trident from Beetee. It had several special functions. One of them was allowing Finnick's trident to fly back to him, when he pushed a button on his wrist cuff.

Jackson, a middle-aged woman and Bogg's deputy, was able to hit targets we could not even see with the target tube.

The sisters Leeg, both in their twenties, who we called Leeg one and two were looking so similar in their uniforms that I had difficulties identifying them.

Two older men, Mitchell and Homes, did not talk much, but they could shoot everyone the dust off their shoes within a fifty meter distance.

Though other groups were good as well and I was not sure why we were called a special unit, until Plutarch announced that we had a special task of getting filmed.

Three victors in one group. It made sense now. That Katniss did not really protest made me suspicious and I suggested that she was not going to stay with the star unit, how we were called now.

Katniss had always had troubles with taking orders and preferred to act on her own. With her in my unit, I would definitely participate in the battle. So I did not bother myself too much with this special task.

At dinner I noticed that Annie was even more clingy toward Finnick than usually. I could not blame her.

“Don't worry, Annie. We'll look out for each other. After all we're still allies, right playboy?”, I used Johanna's nickname for him.

“Sure, newbie”, he teased me back.

“Will I ever lose that status?”

“When whole Panem is enveloped in summer and the snow has vanished”, he joked making me roll my eyes with a smile.

After dinner Annie stopped me to talk to me alone.

“I won't stop Finnick if you want to ask me that”, I clarified.

She shook her head. “No. I'm … pregnant. You're the only one who knows.”

I enveloped her in a hug. “Congratulations!”

We smiled at each other.

“I can't tell him. It would hold him back. But since the last meeting a few days ago, he seems so unsettled. He tries to hide it, but it only worries me more. Do you know anything?”

I took a deep breath. What was I supposed to do now? Lying to her felt wrong. I had not told Johanna yet, too.

“We volunteered for the next Hunger Games”, I burst out before I could change my mind.

“What?” Annie became pale.

“If we win, this will be the final games. Snow is a tribute, too. Katniss, Finnick and me. We're still allies. We're a great team and experienced. We'll figure a way out of this. Annie, we can all win”, I tried soothing her.

“But you should talk to him”, I added. “Finnick should know that you're pregnant, but still support his determination to fight. It'll motivate him even more to return. And I promise you to look out for him.”

She nodded. “Thanks, (f/n).”

When Annie left, I felt exhausted. Telling her had worked out pretty well, but Johanna would be a different story. Due to the sedatives I did not even know which reaction to expect. And telling her the truth in her state only to leave the next day appeared cruel to me. But to keep it a secret was not fair either. Honestly I was surprised that I had not broken down yet.

“Hey, Jo”, I greeted her.

For once she was awake and she was looking better rested.

“Tomorrow's the day”, she mumbled back, her eyes locked on the bundle of pine needles she was holding in her hands.

“I'm sorry.”

“You know that I hate pity”, she spat out glaring at me.

But I simply shook my head. “And you know that I don't pity you. I'm sorry because I didn't tell you the whole story.”

She cocked an eyebrow at me.

I closed the door and sat down on the chair. “The streets in the Capitol are covered in pots triggering different attacks. It's like the arena. Therefore Katniss, Finnick and I are calling it the 76th Hunger Games.”

I could not read the expression on Johanna's face. It looked like she was about to cry. “Another round of games, huh?”

She started laughing like a maniac. “If I weren't a victor myself, I'd be shocked. But Snow's always surpassing our worst expectations.”

“Jo, I ...”

“No, it's alright. I'm bloody angry, but I won't hold you back. I heard them calling you the best sniper of Panem. Make Snow pay!”

I mirrored her grin and leaned in to kiss her.

To my surprise the nightmares left me alone this night. Probably because they could not keep up with reality anyway.

The next morning I said goodbye to Johanna, Annie and my family.

I had not told my family what I was about to face once again. The fourth Hunger Games with a family member participating in only five years. I did not want to provide these news to them. It was worse enough that I was going to war.

A hovercraft brought our group to district 12. Then we were transported by a freight wagon stuffed with countless soldier in gray uniforms.

It took us several days until we arrived at the tunnels, which led through the mountains toward the Capitol.

Six more hours of marching later the field camp of the rebels was finally in sight. The rebels had dispelled the peacekeepers, who had regrouped more at the center of the city leaving countless temptingly empty streets between them and us. At least seemingly empty. After all we knew about the pods we had to overcome.

After three days our group threatened to die out of boredom. We had nothing to do but to film more videos of us shooting at random things. After all we could not purposely destroy the pods in front of the camera if we did not want Snow to know that we had the holo.

Whenever an actual sniper was needed the raised hands of Katniss, Gale, Finnick and me were completely ignored.

On the morning of the fourth day Leeg two suddenly hit an unidentified pod triggering an arrow rain. One of the arrows hit her head killing her before the paramedics could reach her.

Plutarch promised us a quick replacement. It infuriated me how he was talking about the death of a person like a destroyed part of a machine. But he was always keeping the end result in mind and was ready to sacrifice lives for that. A person without such a determination could have never been a gamemaster in the first place. So I could not blame him.

But when I heard Leeg one crying inside her tent at night, it broke my heart.

I made my way over to her and got inside without waiting for approval.

“I know how it is to lose a sister”, I whispered.

Her teary, broken eyes bored into mine. Was that how I had looked after Rue's death?

I hugged her the whole night in a desperate attempt to comfort her.

Plutarch had not lied as he had promised a quick replacement. On the next evening Peeta arrived earning a mixture of shock, confusion and rejection from our group.

What was Plutarch thinking? Instead of chains Peeta was wearing a gun!

Boggs immediately took Peeta's weapon and called the command center.

“It won't change anything. Coin sent me here herself. She thinks that the propos need more thrill”, Peeta declared.

Suspicion filled my entire being. Did Coin want to kill us, especially Katniss after all?

I thought back to the memories I had off her. How she had saved my family to make me concentrate on the riots in 11. Back then she had appeared as my savior, but actually she had just used me due to my role as a victor and Rue's sister.

Then the fact that she had threatened Katniss that the deal of sparing the captives would be off if Katniss made one mistake.

And when I had requested, almost pleaded her to rescue the captives, she had proclaimed it as too risky and dangerous. But it had not been a problem to rescue them when Katniss could not keep up with her role as the mockingjay anymore.

Coin had not once acted out of kindness or sympathy. She had always done everything to achieve her goal, no matter what. She had pushed us to our breaking point without a sense of empathy. We were mere pawns to her.

Why had I not realized that sooner? I had jumped from the game board of one person to another.

Katniss was unpredictable. Due to Katniss all victors had become a threat to Snow and now Coin considered us a threat as well. Because she could not control us. Because we were desperate. Because we knew what it meant to take risks. That you could only win that way.

I had never wasted a thought on what would happen after the war. Like I had never wasted a thought what would happen after my previous games. In the end I would have never been able to foresee any of that anyway, but now I could not help but wonder.

Coin would declare herself as the leader of the rebellion, the supporter of the mockingjay who had done everything to free the country. I did not like the thought of her as the new leader of Panem. She was manipulative and reckless like Snow. She had achieved it that we had supported her.

Were we jumping from one misery to the next right now?

The whistle announcing dinner ripped me out of my thoughts.

The atmosphere was terrible. Katniss was extremely hostile toward Peeta. I could not blame her for that. After all her gentle and caring fiance had tried to kill her and insulted her the whole time after that. But it was not his fault either. It had not been him talking and acting.

After dinner the temperature decreased and we were all freezing. Autumn was not the best time for camping. As our tents were not keeping the cold outside anyway, I decided to sleep under the stars.

Finnick trotted over to me and opened his sleeping back with a bright smile. “Come over”, he encouraged me.

“You want to share your sleeping bag?”

“I want to share both of our sleeping bags and our body temperature. I know that you're also freezing.”

I hesitated.

“Come on! Johanna isn't here and Annie wouldn't mind. I'm a happily married man”, he persuaded me.

I laid down next to him and put my sleeping bag over us. Honestly it was comforting.

“Did Annie tell you?”

“Yeah. I still can't believe that I'm becoming a dad.”

“Hope you're not mad at me for telling her the truth.”

He shook his head. “She deserved it just as much as I deserved it. But we should sleep now. We're in the arena again, remember? We have to guard over Peeta in the early morning”, he reminded me making me smile slightly.

“At least we don't have to worry about food and water supplies”, he added.

“And now that Peeta is here I don't think Katniss will leave us behind”, I noted. “And she can be sure that we're her allies. So hopefully our alliance should not crumble this time.”

These games would be different. It was either win or die. Though I was not sure who the true enemy was anymore.

----------------

Next Chapter

[incaensio]

setting : district thirteen's kitchen, around an hour and a half after peeta's interview. with : delly cartwright @dellcartwrights

somehow, in the midst of the dozen thoughts spiraling in her head, she thinks of that damned cat. he's the one being she meets as she goes in her compartment; the both of them make faces at each other, because it's clear they both expected prim instead of one another. but prim must still be in the infirmary, where she usually stays until bedtime, and at the very least, she grows hopeful that prim may be able to coax gale into fixing his nose. but the more her sister stays in the infirmary, the more time buttercup has alone, circling around the room, hissing at her. "shut up and i'll try to get you somethin' to munch on, fiend." that does it. the cat is obedient when it comes to food, because she's hardly ever failed him before on that, even when she promised to drown him or make mittens out of his ugly fur. so that's what drives her to the kitchen, as if it's just another day. as if she hasn't just watched her husband, whom she imagined dead, on tv. maybe if she doesn't think of that, no one will approach her —  no one does. katniss doesn't think she would be able to form sentences about it, or keep from punching someone's teeth out if she heard even a whisper of someone bad mouthing peeta, like people at the control room did.

there's no longer any food smell in the kitchens, not that it must smell much in its usual days; sae has joined the kitchen staff —  katniss recalls her former boss to be the one giving her scrappy soup on the first days post sedation, gently yammering on about how the kitchens work here, how everything is strict but that she's thankful, and that she's gotten some of her own out thanks to gale —  but she can not make miracles when they do not allow her to, and the food has barely improved, much less the kitchen's smell. it is sae she looks for, but it's someone else she encounters. this time, delly cartwright's frame is not one she dreads, nor detests, though. if anything, katniss feels a sort of relief, though she can not call it that when something is still coiled in her chest; she'd have sought the girl out anyways, though, if only she could make sense out of delly's overpacked schedule.

at once, scraps for buttercup are forgotten. the odious cat, a futile thought to fill her mind to keep from spinning, disappears, and all that she can think of is peeta in his interview, the way his hand kept shaking, how the flush in his cheeks —  before he began growing red from the barely contained anger —  was all the fake sort, all dusted powder from their prep team. just two weeks ago, they had joked about their make ups, she had touched his face and kissed his mouth, and that feels a lifetime away. what is peeta doing in this lifetime, she wonders?

"delly." she forces herself to call on, before her mind takes slippier roads to misery. katniss marches towards the other. it’s clear delly has been crying, but katniss decides not to address that, when her own eyes must be swollen, though she tries to keep any tears from forming again. "what y’doin’? hang on, let me help you with that."

[mzannthropy]

I never even thought of the point about Prim and Katniss's mother being left alone if she dies in her second games.>> Me too. I only realized it more recently when I rewatched the first and then the second film. I had only seen the first one once, so I decided to see what her situation was like, and she loved her sister and didn't get along with her mother. I also read that if Katiniss died, her family would have to leave the victors' village, and they would have to return the money. So which makes the whole saving Peeta thing pointless and a forced, cheap romance. At the beginning of Catching Fire, she doesn't give Peeta shit, so when the games are announced, her first thought is to save him and not her sister? And is she the one who inspires the rebellion? She doesn't do anything in the second film that shows she's a hero like she did in the first. All she does is treat Finnick badly even after he saved Peeta; not caring about Mags; and she still planned to run away with Peeta, while the others killed themselves. Detail, from the moment she asks Haymitch to save Peeta, it shows that not even she believed in his potential, which makes him weaker than he is. She can't even save him. If it wasn't for Finnick, he would have died at the beginning of the arena.

Nine years of pent up thoughts, feelings and frustrations about this series--and yet I suddenly struggle with what to say!

If any fans should stumble upon this post--please ignore, thanks.

Let me address your last point first: Finnick saves Peeta's life in the arena. Only for him to die himself. Peeta got to live and have kids with Katniss (that she never wanted), two whole people that would not exist had it not been for Finnick. I hope those brats at least learned his name. (In the book, nothing about any of the other characters is acknowledged, what the film did at the end, with Katniss looking at Annie's photo of her with her son, that doesn't happen in the book--clearly even the screenwriters realised some sort of conclusion was needed!). Look, I don't give a fuck about the k/p pairing, let them live their little life in their little meadow or wherever the fuck they are, I just hate how unfairly the series treats everyone else and how many people lost their lives bc of these two.

K/P are presented simultaneously as star-crossed lovers and fake dating to lovers, so both popular tropes and I wonder if that's why they are such a beloved pairing. Personally, I don't buy either. Like I said in your previous ask, the way they both get to win their first games is way too contrived for me. (Are you telling me that, in the previous 73 games, no other district tried to pull a similar "we are in love" stunt? The very fact that a boy and a girl are reaped from each district, pretty much begs for such a stunt, especially as they're teenagers. Or how about pretending to fall in love with someone from a different district, in the arena? That would make for a juicy viewing!)

Then, I don't understand why Katniss became the Mockingjay, other than that she was the main character and the author wanted it so. She doesn't care about the revolution. She's not some Alexei Navalny figure, gods rest his soul. She's a wind up toy that goes "Peeta Peeta Peeta waah waah waah". Am I supposed to be convinced that someone as powerful as President Snow is threatened by one teenage girl??? He could have her killed and make it look an accident or suicide without a blink of an eye. He could have Prim killed and make it look an accident without a blink of an eye. Jesus.

I don't think any particular character should have been the Mockingjay, btw. I think all of them should have been it. At least those that were at the forefront of the revolution. Go full I Am Spartacus, except literally, after all, this is clearly influenced by the gladiator games.

I wonder if fans of this series are all also k/p shippers, bc there isn't in reality anything else. But bc it deals with Serious Issues, it allows people to make deep posts on tumblr about how oppressive governments are wrong and war is bad. And still they get to have their OTP to write fluffy fanfics about.

I was looking through one-star reviews of Mockingjay on Goodreads again and found a recent one, which articulates the problems really well. Also there is a post I reblogged a while ago. I think the "terminal incuriosity of Katniss's POV" hits the nail on the head for me. Curiosity is a trait value highly, so her narration would never work for me.

I know Katniss has trauma. But the thing is, every-fucking-body in Panem has trauma, bc you can't live under an oppressive regime and not have trauma.

Mockingjay is the most disappointing book I've ever read.

[alwayschasingrainbows]

What would have happened if

1. Katniss didn't volunteer for Prim, so Prim and Peeta compete in 74th Games.

2. Gale and Katniss compete.

3. Katniss and Peeta's brother compete. Before, he volunteered for Peeta.

The Questions :

A.What strategy would Haymitch made for District 12?

B.What would Katniss do to them? Would she become an ally with those 2 boys?

C.Who would be the winner in the end?

Thank you so much :)

@curiousnonny

Thank you, Nonny!

1.A) What strategy would Haymitch made for District 12 if Prim and Peeta compete in 74th Games?

I know it is going to sound very brutal, but let us be honest... Haymitch had to choose. And, objectively speaking, Prim - small, delicate and very young - didn't have any chances. If Haymitch took his responsibilities seriously (I am not sure if he would have had - I think he would end up drinking too much to numb the pain of losing a child so young and sweet as Prim, unless Peeta forced him to man up as he did in canon), he'd try to keep Peeta alive. But there is also another possibility... Peeta, who loved Katniss (even if she didn't love him in return), would surely try to protect Primrose, even if it meant risking (or sacrificing) his own life. Because Katniss loved Prim more than anything - so Peeta would do anything he could to make sure Prim made it.

Now the brutal part: I think neither of them would have survived.

1.B.) What would Katniss do to them? Would she become an ally with those 2 boys?

Irrelevant here (Katniss doesn't compete;). I think Rue and Prim would be allies. Peeta would have tried to protect Prim, so maybe he'd join the girls as well.

1.C.) Who would be the winner in the end?

I think either Foxface (if it wasn't for the poison berries, she had great chances, being so smart) either Cato.

2.A.) What strategy would Haymitch made for District 12 if Gale and Katniss compete?

Gale had great chances at winning. He was strong, brave, smart, and a great hunter. So was Katniss... But I think Haymitch would think Gale was more likely to win. He was physically stronger than thin and small Katniss. So I guess Haymitch's first choice would be Gale. That being said... here comes the controvercial part. Please, feel free to disagree.

I am sure that Gale would be Katniss's ally. They were great friends, he might have had a crush on her. But... Peeta's story of sacrifice wouldn't repeat itself. I mean, Gale would protect Katniss with all of his strength, but he and Peeta were in different situations. Peeta was the youngest of his siblings, a baker's son. His family would be fine without him - they would lose some of their income Peeta's cakes generated, but they wouldn't starve to death. Gale, on the other hand, was the main breadwinner of the family. He had three little siblings to support. Of course, his mother did absolutely everything she could to provide for the family, but let's be real: they wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for Gale's hunting. So while Peeta had a... freedom to sacrifice himself for Katniss, Gale's situation was more complicated. I think he and Katniss would have made a pact: whoever lives on, helps another one's family. So, as I said, both of them would protect and help one another, but not to such an extent as Peeta (who was 100% willing to sacrifice his life for Katniss, no matter what) did. Not because Gale hadn't loved Katniss - not because he hadn't wanted her to survive - but because he wouldn't have been able to allow himself to give away his life so easily. If he died and Katniss survived, his family would have been taken care of. If Katniss's died and he survived, he'd take care of both of their families. But if he had sacrificed himself for Katniss and she would have died as well - it might have meant that both of their families wouldn't make it. If Katniss had great chances of survival, he would die for her. But if she hadn't... I think he wouldn't risk the two of them dying.

The saddest part is the fact neither Katniss nor Gale would have had a freedom of choosing to die for one another. I think that they would choose to live for one another and to take care of thother one's family.

Now, back to Haymitch.

He'd probably choose Gale, who was a more likely winner. Since Gale and Katniss would have been allies, the eventual gifts from sponsors would be divided evenly between the two of them.

2.B.) What would Katniss do to them? Would she become an ally with those 2 boys?

She'd definitely be an ally with Gale!

2.C.) Who would be the winner in the end?

I think it depends. Gale and Katniss's duo would have protected one another until the very end. I know some people say Gale would have sacrificed himself - and I also think he would have tried to, but only if the final battle was to be held between him and Katniss (if they were the last ones). It is quite possible - together, they were unstoppable! I don't think Katniss's would have allowed him to do so (she'd try to stop him). I think she'd be willing to sacrifice herself, too, if they were the last ones left. Perhaps they would try the poison berries trick - perhaps something else, to try and scare the game makers (there HAD TO be a victor - the games were pointless otherwise).

So it is quite possible that Katniss and Gale would have been victors together.

If not, probably one of them.

3.A) What strategy would Haymitch made for District 12 if Katniss and Peeta's brother compete. Before, he volunteered for Peeta.

Hm, I guess Haymitch would wait a little longer to choose the one who had greater chances of surviving. Peeta's brother was physically stronger, but Katniss had brains and was a great hunter. I think Haymitch would would have chosen to protect Katniss, because she was more similar to himself...

3.B.) What would Katniss do to them? Would she become an ally with those 2 boys?

Not sure if she'd be ally with Peeta's brother. In my opinion, no. They didn't have anything in common. I guess she wouldn't want to kill Peeta's brother herself (because he volunteered for his brother and was from her district), but nothing more than that.

3.C.) Who would be the winner in the end?

Hm... tbh, not sure. Katniss had survived partly because of the "love story" success (she had gotten more gifts from sponsors, because Peeta made her more... likable in their eyes) and because Peeta had protected her. Of course, she had chances of victory herself - she was smart, capable of finding food, water and shelter. But Cato and the rest were after her (since her score was so high!) and she might have not have survived tracker jackers' attack, if Peeta wouldn't have helped her. Katniss herself admitted that Peeta had saved her life then.

Still, I would say that the three most possible victors are: Katniss, Foxface or Cato.

Thanks again, @curiousnonny!

[saltpepperbeard]

Lord. I’m preparing for another round of discourse about Katniss being forced or not forced into having babies.

Can someone get Suzzie C on the phone? I’d like her to clear it up once and for all

tHE HO THAT WROTE HUNGER GAMES PLEASE

And honestly, let the nonbelievers come because I'd be so ready to get into a brawl lol. It's one of the topics I'm quite aggressive about SHOULD I GET PROVOKED SKJDHS. Like, Applesauce2k14 but in regards to Katniss being forced into having children?

[realmermaid333]

Do you think Katniss settle for Peeta in the epilogue?

Thank you,

@everlarkshipper

No, I don't think so at all! Her feelings make complete sense, I don't think her and Gale would have been a good or healthy match at all, even if he wasn't involved in Prim's death.

Katniss never had feelings for Gale until he had them for her. One thing I did not like about Gale was that he was very pushy with Katniss about liking him, he seemed to feel like she owed him that. Like since he was her best friend and helped her take care of her family, that she should have reciprocated his feelings. It was very annoying! Peeta on the other hand was not very pushy with Katniss. He expressed his feelings, but allowed her to feel however she wanted without expecting anything from her. Yes, Peeta and Katniss had that rough patch after the first Hunger Games and before the Victory Tour where they were petty with each other and everything was tense, but that was not one sided. They were both being petty, and in the end they didn't even understand why they were treating each other like that and Peeta apologized, as did Katniss. After that, they started to actually become friends. And yes, sometimes Peeta got frustrated with Katniss because she was being confusing, this was completely valid though because Katniss was playing with his feelings without meaning to.

Katniss always kind of liked Peeta, but she was not very close with him and did not have strong love for him until Peeta almost died in Catching Fire. That was when she realized she loved him. Before that, Katniss, and especially Peeta, only had infatuation. Peeta had a crush on Katniss that was very strong in the first arena, he was not in love with her though because they did not know each other that well. They cared deeply about each other though and wanted to keep each other alive, but they were just friends who found each other attractive. Katniss was not as into Peeta and he was her, but she said that she also watched him when they were in school and knew he won a wrestling competition, which hinted that she had a small crush.

Then after the first Hunger Games, when they were in District 12 and Katniss was injured, Peeta carried her to her bed, which she said made her feel very comforted and loved, when he was drawing plants for her family's plant identification book she couldn't stop watching him, when she had awful nightmares he would comfort her, he made her cheesy bread because she liked it even when they were barely talking. Katniss and Peeta kissed on the beach during the Quarter Quell and it got heated and Suzanne Collins had a very poetic way of saying Katniss got horny lmao. These are examples of them having some sort of feelings for each other. People tend to act like Katniss barely paid any attention to Peeta and that her feelings for Peeta were forced, but they definitely always had a little something.

Then after Peeta was hijacked and Gale and Katniss went to District 2 and started making out, Gale noticed that Katniss was not that interested in it and had her eyes closed the whole time. She was barely paying attention to him and was using him as a distraction, which was not very nice as Gale had feelings for her, but I think that was the last time they ever kissed. Katniss just never saw Gale as more than a best friend, it was Gale's pressure that made her so confused and I think that moment was when she finally realized that. I think another reason she liked Gale was because that was what she was "supposed" to do, she even said that in the books if I am remembering right. She said that everyone assumed they'd be together, that if Peeta wasn't in the picture, she would have just ended up with Gale and never explored any other option... idk to me that sounds like settling.

But, after the war, after everything was over and Peeta was sent back to District 12. Katniss could have just ignored him and found someone else, her and Peeta could have just been friends. They weren't completely isolated, there were people who came back to District 12, and there were people who moved there from other districts to rebuild the 12 and produce medicine. Katniss could have dated other people, but she chose to be with Peeta because that was what she wanted.

She explicitly says during the beautifully poetic, spicy part at the end Mockingjay, that she wanted to be the Peeta and "this would have happened anyway". If you read that last page of Mockingjay, that quote meant that no matter what happened with Gale or anyone else, her and Peeta would have ended up together anyways. She needed to be with someone who felt safe, someone who was positive, someone who could comfort her, and that was Peeta. They had a lot of shared trauma that they knew how to help each other through. The end of Mockingjay was when they fell in love, they began to know each other more intimately, they processed grief together, started living together, Katniss finally accepted her feelings for him which allowed her to open herself up more emotionally. He was her dandelion in the spring, a person who reminded her that everything would be okay no matter how great their losses were, they were meant to be together.

[katnissmellarkkk]

Elllow! Today’s bookcomb consists of Peeta being protective of Katniss. Could have been much more implied moments but here’s some explicit ones 🤗

-

But it’s too late to run. I pull a slimy arrow from the sheath and try to position it on the bowstring but instead of one string I see three and the stench from the stings is so repulsive I can’t do it. I can’t do it. I can’t do it.

I’m helpless as the first hunter crashes through the trees, spear lifted, poised to throw. The shock on Peeta’s face makes no sense to me. I wait for the blow. Instead his arm drops to his side.

“What are you still doing here?” he hisses at me. I stare uncomprehendingly as a trickle of water drips off a sting under his ear. His whole body starts sparkling as if he’s been dipped in dew. “Are you mad?” He’s prodding me with the shaft of the spear now. “Get up! Get up!” I rise, but he’s still pushing at me. What? What is going on? He shoves me away from him hard. “Run!” he screams. “Run!”

-

I trip and fall into a small pit lined with tiny orange bubbles that hum like the tracker jacker nest. Tucking my knees up to my chin, I wait for death.

Sick and disoriented, I’m able to form only one thought: Peeta Mellark just saved my life.

-

I jump as Peeta grips my shoulder from behind. “No,” he says. “You’re not risking your life for me.”

“Who said I was?” I say.

“So, you’re not going?” he asks.

“Of course, I’m not going. Give me some credit.”

-

Anger flushes my face. “All right, I am going, and you can’t stop me!”

“I can follow you. At least partway. I may not make it to the Cornucopia, but if I’m yelling your name, I bet someone can find me. And then I’ll be dead for sure,” he says.

“You won’t get a hundred yards from here on that leg,” I say.

“Then I’ll drag myself,” says Peeta. “You go and I’m going, too.”

-

“We’re going!” says Peeta, shoving the Peacekeeper who’s pressing on me. “We get it, all right? Come on, Katniss.” His arm encircles me and guides me back into the Justice Building.

-

Peeta steps up on a crate against the wall of the sweetshop and offers me a hand while he scans the square. I’m halfway up when he suddenly blocks my way. “Get down. Get out of here!” He’s whispering, but his voice is harsh with insistence.

“What?” I say, trying to force my way back up.

“Go home, Katniss! I’ll be there in a minute, I swear!” he says.

-

“He was poaching. What business is it of hers, anyway?” says the man.

“He’s her cousin.” Peeta’s got my other arm now, but gently. “And she’s my fiancée. So if you want to get to him, expect to go through both of us.”

-

When we’re outside, I turn to Peeta. “You go on back. I want to walk by the Hob.”

“I’ll go with you,” he says.

“No. I’ve dragged you into enough trouble,” I tell him.

“And avoiding a stroll by the Hob . . . that’s going to fix things for me?” He smiles and takes my hand. Together we wind through the streets of the Seam until we reach the burning building.

-

“Peeta’s argument is that since I chose you, I now owe him. Anything he wants. And what he wants is the chance to go in again to protect you,” says Haymitch.

I knew it. In this way, Peeta’s not hard to predict. While I was wallowing around on the floor of that cellar, thinking only of myself, he was here, thinking only of me. Shame isn’t a strong enough word for what I feel.

“You could live a hundred lifetimes and not deserve him, you know,” Haymitch says.

“Yeah, yeah,” I say brusquely. “No question, he’s the superior one in this trio. So, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.” Haymitch sighs. “Go back in with you maybe, if I can. If my name’s drawn at the reaping, it won’t matter. He’ll just volunteer to take my place.”

-

The reaping takes only a minute. Effie, shining in a wig of metallic gold, lacks her usual verve. She has to claw around the girls’ reaping ball for quite a while to snag the one piece of paper that everyone already knows has my name on it. Then she catches Haymitch’s name. He barely has time to shoot me an unhappy look before Peeta has volunteered to take his place.

-

“And I’m not saying I’m not going to try. To get you home, I mean. But if I’m perfectly honest about it. . .”

“If you’re perfectly honest about it, you think President Snow has probably given them direct orders to make sure we die in the arena anyway,” I say.

“It’s crossed my mind,” says Peeta.

-

I check over my weapons, which I know are in perfect condition, because it makes me seem more in control. “I’ll take the lead,” I announce.

Peeta starts to object but Finnick cuts him off. “No, let her do it.”

-

No one’s thrilled with the idea of me going off alone, but the threat of dehydration hangs over us.

“Don’t worry, I won’t go far,” I promise Peeta.

“I’ll go, too,” he says.

“No, I’m going to do some hunting if I can,” I tell him. I don’t add, “And you can’t come because you’re too loud.” But it’s implied. He would both scare off prey and endanger me with his heavy tread. “I won’t be long.”

-

Nothing. I find nothing. Not so much as a dewdrop. Eventually, because I know Peeta will be worried about me, I head back to the camp, hotter and more frustrated than ever.

-

I know it’s stopped when I feel Peeta’s hands on me, feel myself lifted from the ground and out of the jungle. But I stay eyes squeezed shut, hands over my ears, muscles too rigid to release. Peeta holds me on his lap, speaking soothing words, rocking me gently.

-

While Johanna collects water and my arrows, Beetee fiddles with his wire, and Finnick takes to the water. I need to clean up, too, but I stay in Peeta’s arms, still too shaken to move.

-

This is when Beetee reveals the rest of the plan. Since we move most swiftly through the trees, he wants Johanna and me to take the coil down through the jungle, unwinding the wire as we go. We are to lay it across the twelve o’clock beach and drop the metal spool, with whatever is left, deep into the water, making sure it sinks. Then run for the jungle. If we go now, right now, we should make it to safety.

“I want to go with them as a guard,” Peeta says immediately. After the moment with the pearl, I know he’s less willing than ever to let me out of his sight.

-

I’m so light-headed I’ll black out in a matter of minutes. I’ve got to get away from this tree and —

“Katniss!” I hear his voice though he’s a far distance away. But what is he doing? Peeta must have figured out that everyone is hunting us by now. “Katniss!”

-

Caesar leans in to him a little. “I think it was clear to all of us what your plan was. To sacrifice yourself in the arena so that Katniss Everdeen and your child could survive.”

“That was it. Clear and simple.” Peeta’s fingers trace the upholstered pattern on the arm of the chair.

-

A hush has fallen over the room, and I can feel it spreading across Panem. A nation leaning in toward its screens. Because no one has ever talked about what it’s really like in the arena before.

Peeta goes on. “So you hold on to your wish. And that last night, yes, my wish was to save Katniss.”

-

“When that wire was cut, everything just went insane. I can only remember bits and pieces. Trying to find her. Watching Brutus kill Chaff. Killing Brutus myself. I know she was calling my name. Then the lightning bolt hit the tree, and the force field around the arena . . . blew out.”

“Katniss blew it out, Peeta,” says Caesar. “You’ve seen the footage.”

“She didn’t know what she was doing. None of us could follow Beetee’s plan. You can see her trying to figure out what to do with that wire,” Peeta snaps back.

-

Peeta’s on his feet, leaning in to Caesar’s face, hands locked on the arms of his interviewer’s chair. “Really? And was it part of her plan for Johanna to nearly kill her? For that electric shock to paralyze her? To trigger the bombing?” He’s yelling now. “She didn’t know, Caesar! Neither of us knew anything except that we were trying to keep each other alive!”

Caesar places his hand on Peeta’s chest in a gesture that’s both self-protective and conciliatory. “Okay, Peeta, I believe you.”

-

Gale’s expression darkens. “Peeta might have done a lot of damage tonight. Most of the rebels will dismiss what he said immediately, of course. But there are districts where the resistance is shakier. The cease-fire’s clearly President Snow’s idea. But it seems so reasonable coming out of Peeta’s mouth.”

I’m afraid of Gale’s answer, but I ask anyway. “Why do you think he said it?”

“He might have been tortured. Or persuaded. My guess is he made some kind of deal to protect you. He’d put forth the idea of the cease-fire if Snow let him present you as a confused pregnant girl who had no idea what was going on when she was taken prisoner by the rebels. This way, if the districts lose, there’s still a chance of leniency for you. If you play it right.” I must still look perplexed because Gale delivers the next line very slowly. “Katniss . . . he’s still trying to keep you alive.”

To keep me alive? And then I understand. The Games are still on. We have left the arena, but since Peeta and I weren’t killed, his last wish to preserve my life still stands. His idea is to have me lie low, remain safe and imprisoned, while the war plays out. Then neither side will really have cause to kill me. And Peeta? If the rebels win, it will be disastrous for him. If the Capitol wins, who knows? Maybe we’ll both be allowed to live — if I play it right — to watch the Games go on. . . .

-

Caesar and Peeta have a few empty exchanges before Caesar asks him about rumors that I’m taping propos for the districts.

“They’re using her, obviously,” says Peeta. “To whip up the rebels. I doubt she even really knows what’s going on in the war. What’s at stake.”

-

He asks Peeta if, given tonight’s demonstration, he has any parting thoughts for Katniss Everdeen.

At the mention of my name, Peeta’s face contorts in effort. “Katniss . . . how do you think this will end? What will be left? No one is safe. Not in the Capitol. Not in the districts. And you . . . in Thirteen . . .” He inhales sharply, as if fighting for air; his eyes look insane. “Dead by morning!”

-

“Katniss!” He whips his head toward me but doesn’t seem to notice my bow, the waiting arrow. “Katniss! Get out of here!”

I hesitate. His voice is alarmed, but not insane. “Why? What’s making that sound?”

“I don’t know. Only that it has to kill you,” says Peeta. “Run! Get out! Go!”

-