#anti katniss and gale

[darklinaforever]

Everlark is one of my favorite ships of all time and I never understood the comparison with Malina that some people made... thanks to these fanarts / image (besides they are all magnificent, congratulations to the artists !), I have a little Understood. The meadow, the somewhat idyllic end of a quiet life after the war... The red cat that they recover. Also, rewatching the films HG and season 1 of SAB allowed me to understand that Mal had the same dialogue as Peeta, the famous "Alawys" ... Except that it's all very, very superficial. In reality the two ships are absolutely not similar in substance. In reality, Malina would be more like Gale and Katniss to me than Everlark. It's like how a lot of people compare the Grisha trilogy to the Hunger Games trilogy when clearly... no. It has nothing to do. Even in terms of ending, especially in its deep meaning.

I also heard that people also compared Kataang to Everlark and there... Even in superficial terms like Malina does I have difficulty understanding the similarities with Kataang. As this person pointed out, Everlark would look more like Zutara than anything else :

[district-thirteen-intern]

i'm so sick of people going "you hate gale because he is a radicalized, emotionally manipulated teenager who faced great trauma" like no, i hate gale because he's annoying, bro. don't do me like that.

[geminicafe]

as an older sister, my favorite part of sunrise on the reaping was effie being the eldest child who got involved with the hunger games because she was helping her younger sister with homework. very relatable, 10/10, been there before, would do anything for my sisters.

however, also as the older sister, my least favorite part of sunrise on the reaping was how little haymitch seemed to care about his baby brother dying, and it was only the loss of his girlfriend that broke him. not relatable, 0/10, would never be me.

[fandomluver-101]

When asked why I hate Gale x Katniss and look at people who ship them with open disgust, I say and I quote -

"That was the one thing I had going for me. Taking care of your family."

This is said after Katniss has recovered from severe burns and is mourning the death of her sister, the whole reason she volunteered and then fought to survive. There is NO remorse, no acknowledgment of him never visiting her in the hospital, no acknowledgement that he did in fact contribute to Prim's death.

But that line, that blatant acknowledgment of how SELFISH he is and always was is disgusting. His best friend lost the most important person in the world to her - and all he can think about is how Katniss will never pick him over Peeta now that he's forever linked to this tragedy.

Prim was practically his family by this point, he was deeply involved in her life, and he doesn't even mourn her and feels NO guilt!?

[sincerethoughtsblog]

katniss being the person who gave hope to everybody during the rebellion but peeta being the person that always gave katniss hope and strength since the moment they met is so poetic lord

[highly-flammable]

On the topic of Gale being a jackass towards Katniss, anyone wants to talk about how he only got interested in Katniss when he saw Darius flirting with her? Possessive much?

[maadilin]

we became team peeta and anti team gale when peeta said "it's not fair to hold you for the things you said in the games. you said them to survive. you saved us."

that is the difference between peeta and gale. peeta went through them with her, and understands it was to keep them both alive. gale may not have seen it, but he basically refused that katniss said it was an act.

you picked the right man, good job katniss.

[kazperthegh0st]

The Gale hate is not just cause he he killed Prim (he didn’t really). (But he did what he did knowing that innocent people would die).

The gale hate is because he’s a dick who plays with Katniss’s feelings. And I don’t mean the ‘lovers’ thing. He is excited to run away with her but then is mean to her when she says she wants to bring Peeta and Haymitch with them. He tells her that she’s wrong to feel upset that 13 tortured Flavius Octavia and Venia (her prep team) (they tortured them over stealing a little bit of bread). He lies to her about Peeta’s broadcast. Throughout book 3 he talks about how killing people is the same thing as killing animals, he vocally applies his animal snares to war, and he does this in front of Katniss.

I get it. He’s a kid (he’s 18-19 in mockingjay). But he’s a character. And he is written to be a foil. The audience is supposed to be like ‘wtf’ when he acts that way. He is a bad person.

[dulcae]

you're seeing these casting announcements, cheering and whooping for whitewashed characters, and yet claim that you care about poc issues? lionsgate had ONE JOB. to correct the issue in which was whitewashing a previously indigenous lead and two other main characters of the same descent.

and they continued with whitewashing, or forced diversity in order to avoid that representation, in order to spout to you about "continuity" and how "franchises" and "the industry" work.

do not fucking have it. i don't care how much you liked SOTR, i don't care how much you didn't. i'm asking as kindly as i possibly can, boycott.

stop giving famous YA authors who are rich on a success that could fund them after the grave and their poorly made adaptations attention because of nostalgia. because guess what? JKR didn't care about her marginalised majority and STILL made transphobic tweets.

stephanie meyers platformed mormonism and confederacy, and demonized her indigenous characters in order to platform her white ones. and when the tribe was based off a real one, did not ONCE give back to them in any way.

suzanne collins in the modern day, has had EVERY opportunity to correct casting, to speak out against whitewashing, to platform POC issues like you all believe she does in her work. she has not. in fact, so much of her work is deeply rooted in stereotypes and misogyny, and prejudice, but you all overlook it because she gives you the basic premise that "oppression is bad." you don't NEED a YA author to tell you that.

one thing you MIGHT need however, is to listen to minorities when they tell you that she's harmed them in her writing and in her decisions to help out with these movies. that's not limited to just the indigenous. she's harmed black people. harmed people with disabilities and mental health. women, too! and it is overlooked, and overlooked. like this fandom doesn't have an adult majority who COULD acutely call these things out. it shouldn't be the younger generation alone.

worse, all this fandom seems to want to do, is suppress "anti-xyz" for the sake of peace and getting along. you cannot CLAIM to care about important issues when you push important people and their talking points aside. because it's not hate. it's upset: it's criticism for an author who people still hold in such high regard and what she has done wrong.

sixteen years of the books, and fourteen since the first movie. when are you going to start saying no?

[acekoomboom]

So.

Gale Killed Prim, and his relationship with Katniss ended because of it. Why is Peeta different?

"Why was she able to forgive Peeta but not him? She had dismissed Gale from her life with barely a blink. Snow had twisted Peeta’s gifts and turned him into a weapon against the people he loved. Hadn’t Coin done the same thing to Gale? He loved Prim like his own sister." A quote from oakfarmer on ao3 that I actually have SO many thoughts on, though I can't remember which of their fanfics this is from. Darn me for not labelling my notes well enough.

What it boils down to, for me I think, is that the capitol has to create things to manipulate Peeta but D13 used what was already there for Gale. Gale already had a mean arrogant streak and wasn't good at taking criticism or rejection. He already had a cold callousness about killing and death. He was already a bit radicalized, and Coin did twist that into something worse. No, Gale didn't kill Prim, Coin did. BUT Gale did invent the weapon + tactic used by his ally and superior to kill her. Katniss told him it was wrong, this trap he'd made, and he condescended to her about it, how this is just how war works. Acted like she was just naive about it. His own ignorance of the reality of life and death and his complete disregard for human life on the other side of the war is what got Prim killed.

Peeta, on the other hand, is nothing like his highjacked self. They didn't take pieces of his personality, personal flaws, etc. and twist them into their perfect soldier. The capitol had to use false memories, had to inflate his insecurities, had to use chemicals and torture and mutated venom. They didn't make Peeta aggressive through hatred or vengeance, they made him aggressive through bodily fear. The venom and his body's extreme adrenaline, the fight or flight response to that. He didn't attack Katniss bc he thought he was better than her or bc she deserved it, he attacked her because the very sight of her caused his body to go into overdrive of adrenaline to protect himself from her. This is a Peeta that *hates* Katniss, and he wants to kill her, but her specifically. He only reacts negatively towards other people (other than normal trauma-induced stuff) when she is involved somehow, like him flipping out on Delly while Katniss watched behind the glass.

These characters are not equivalent. And from a meta perspective, they're not supposed to be. Katniss ends up picking Peeta. Yes, the character obviously would have picked him, but also Katniss as a narrative figure picks him. She picks what he represents. Integrity in war. That boy on the rooftop that said he was willing to kill in self defense and to do what he needed to do but wanted to stay himself. Wanted to stay a human being even in that violence. Wanted to come out the other side of it still intact. Wanted the flowers to grow again after the harsh winter; a dandelion in the spring. Not the cycle of destruction, of forever punishing those that have wronged you, that both Gale and a capitol-kids hunger game would represent.

Which brings my thoughts also to the male loneliness epidemic. (We won't even get started on the fact that when women have problems it's something they need to just get over and take a joke, but when men have problems it's an epidemic) That is Gale. Yes, he has absolutely valid reasons behind his emotions. But he then takes those emotions and becomes radicalized, become something lesser. And that is so indicative of our current political climate in a lot of ways. Men have been hurt by the patriarchy also, they have been raised and socialized and desensitized and to not forming genuine emotional connections with the men around them or the women there in a relationships with. And I do separate those specifically, because men are also taught to not see women as people, so to a lot of men you are either a. someone they are related to b. someone they are romantically interested in or c. someone they are sexually interested in. And that is all a woman can be to them, not a friend.

So every which way they turn men are not taught the skills it takes to not be lonely. Community and having a support system and a network of people doesn't just happen by accident. That is something that you build, and cultivate, and prune, and intentionally add to. Men are lonely because they want someone else to do the work for them. But the onus is on them and the system that made them that way.

And that man is the same as Gale. Someone who is rightfully hurt and wounded by the society they live in but then takes those real feelings and experiences and lets it justify all of the awfulness that follows.

Gale and Peeta are not equivalent. In dumbed down terms, Gale became bad because of what was already in him and then was fine to stay that way. Peeta became bad because of something someone else put in him, and then he did the work to not stay that way.

Oakfarmer again, to bring my rambling back to its original point: "Snow turned Peeta into a weapon, Coin turned Gale into a weapon. Both had been unleashed to destroy Katniss. They were the same, but they weren’t the same at all. The Capitol pumped venom into Peeta to create a hateful mutt. Coin only needed to provide an outlet for the hateful venom already circulating Gale’s veins. Hate and rage, he had never tried to suppress. Hate and rage, Peeta painstakingly clawed his way out of to recover his identity."

[thesweetnessofspring]

It's been a bit, but I think I figured out why I can't ship H*ydove.

It's like they're Ev*rthorne but insisting they're Everlark.

Two people who we're told (and rarely shown) have a certain relationship (friendship/romantic respectively) with very little page time showing that relationship due to the Games separating them, and a relationship in which they are out of tune with each other's perspective/actions.

But I'm supposed to feel like they're soulmates. 🤨

[juju-or-anya]

My favorite scene from "Catching Fire" is the moment Peeta said Katniss was pregnant with his baby… Plus, not only did the entire Capitol believe it, but Katniss almost doubted she was pregnant. Just thinking that Peeta confessed to the whole world on public television that he had sex with Katniss and that Gale saw it, I can only imagine his face.

[urmom-1248]

Since Fable hates me and will only allow 750 words, I’m going to post this here. GALE HATE AHEAD!!!!!!!

In the first book, we see the hatred Gale has for the Capitol and feel sympathetic for him. He is forced to live in the poorest district and take care of his family on his own. However, as the books progress, we see how much that hatred destroys himself and his morals. As the war continues and Gale becomes more involved, he starts to lose himself. He begins to create harsh and unethical weapons of destruction, similar to what the Capitol has been doing for years, and makes excuses for his actions. Gale constantly justifies his wrongdoings by pointing out that the Capitol has done the same to him. For example, killing innocent Capitol children and district nurses is justified by the fact that the Capitol burned down his district. Burying thousands of district two workers alive inside the nut is excused because they work for the Capitol anyway. In the end, Gale becomes what he despised from the beginning. He excuses his terrible acts in the pursuit of winning the war, just as the Capitol did when they started the Hunger Games. He becomes the very thing that Katniss hates, leading to a long game of limbo between the two. Katniss has always maintained that she could not and would not have romantic feelings for Gale, and this only worsened when he joined the war. Gale constantly takes advantage of Katniss's feelings, claiming that she only kisses him when he's “in pain”but seeks comfort from her when he is feeling sad about their relationship. There are numerous instances when Katniss is at the most unstable point in her life, and Gale swoops in to take advantage of her vulnerability. A huge example of this is after Katniss decides that Peeta will never recover from the Tracker Jacker venom. She is heartbroken that someone she has been trying to protect and save since their first games, someone she has felt so much guilt for not being able to protect him from the Capitol will never be able to see her as anything but a Mutt and by the end of the chapter, Gale has cornered her and convinced her to make out with him. He is constantly undermining her emotions and altogether just makes her feel less than at every opportunity he can find, even though Katniss is ten times the person he will ever be. All in all, Gale sucks. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[fantasy-nerdddd]

The reasons I dislike Gale

Most obvious: He invented the bomb that killed Prim. It's not the problem that it was Prim specifically. He couldn't have known. But if it wasn't Prim it'd be hundreds of innocent children.

He was emotionally manipulative to get Katniss to like him. Example: "I knew you'd do that. Because I'm in pain." This is a) true and b) evil. The definition of manipulative.

He only saw the world in black and white. Are you from the Capitol? Evil. Are you a rebel? Good. There is no pure good or pure evil, and you should be able to judge if you're willing to act on the shade of gray you're going to.

He didn't care about human life. This ties with the first point but I want to add something else. One of his first quotes: "You know how to hunt" "animals" "it's no different". Like it should be! You cannot just waste human lives. Killing people means one of two things: a) it messes up with your psyche or b) you have a messed up psyche. Sorry Gale but you might be number 2.

He was blinded by his hatred. I mean yes the Capitol is horrible. As Gale said "We're using the same rulebook Snow used to hijack Peeta." Well that makes you no better than the enemy! Be a bit more humane at least. The rulebook you're using is an immoral one.

He was overly jealous . I mean how dare she not love me back? How dare she kiss another man for survival? Even when I have never ever proposed the idea to her that I love her? Movie fans might say that he realised he loved her during the 74th Hunger Games. This is wrong, he did about 6 months before when Darius tried to pay for some of Katniss' game with a kiss. Apparently, Gale got jealous and he realised then that he cares about her romantically.

[greenkittysandwich]

HOT TAKE: there’s no such thing as team Gale!!

He only LIKES katniss when you place her next to another guy. He told katniss he liked her around 6months before the 74th games when a guy joked about kissing her.

And he’s now making more moves on her than ever after she saw peeta and katniss in that damn cave!!

Seeing her next to guys made him feel like he’s entitled to katniss, or if she’s some object he owns! He can’t realize it for himself huh?

Also the way he talked about katniss to peeta in tigris’ basement in the mockingjay?? Wow.

(Also im biased to my sweet sweet peeta 💔😔 HE IS TOO SWEET)

[shadowqueenjude]

The Hunger Games is wild to me now because the main character actually chose the healthier love interest, like how many times do you see THAT happening in books nowadays??

*cough acotar cough*