#at least not to the extent we see katniss

[justafewberries]

gonna crash out if we find out haymitch is behind the “if it weren’t for the baby” idea due to something from his past cough cough lenore dove cough cough

[imsogonesposts]

Real or Not Real?

|| ao3 || requests are open! ||

summary: A hijacked Finnick arrives to District 13 (wc: 1,421)

warnings: very angsty, finnick hates reader (cause of the hijacking), and I think thats all!

Finnick Odair had always prided himself on not being a very hateful person, even with all the trauma he’s endured since the age of fourteen. He had really only ever hated one person, President Snow. But after the events of the Quarter Quell, something had changed. After his rescue to District 13, you found a newfound hatred inside of him. Not only did he hate President Snow, but now he hated you as well. 

A small part of him felt a little sad at the fact that he hated you, especially when he saw the way your face crumpled when you made the realization, but nonetheless, he hated you. After all, you left him to die in that arena. You had promised him that it was him and you, forever, and you still left him in that arena to be captured. While you got to be saved, safe in District 13, he was tortured. That didn’t seem fair. 

Of course, that wasn’t what actually had happened. Plutarch and Haymitch were only able to save Katniss, Beetee, and you, before they had to fly to District 13 to avoid the Capitol. And no matter how much you protested, fought, and cried to them, they couldn’t go and look for Finnick in the arena. 

“You promised me you’d get us both out of that arena if we kept that girl and her husband safe! You promised me!” You had yelled at the both of them before Haymitch had to sedate you. You hadn’t woken up until you were already in District 13, with no way to reach Finnick. No way to ensure he was okay. 

“Oh, thank god you’re okay,” you had said into his chest as you ran to hug him. Finally, you reunited with the man you loved. His face and arms looked as if they had some cuts and bruising, but at least he was alive. Safe here with you. That was all that mattered.

“Okay’s one word for it,” he had muttered, arms not hugging you back, his body stiff as a statue. You felt your heart break when you tip-toed to kiss him and he backed away, putting some distance between the two of you. 

“You left me,” he bitterly whispered as you felt your heart break even more, if that was even possible. 

“Finnick,” you whispered, frantically shaking your head no. “I wanted to go back for you but they wouldn’t let me. They had to sedate me cause I wouldn’t stop trying to fight them.”

“You left me to the one person I hate most in the world,” he said, tone sharp as he walked away from you to be checked out by one of the nurses. Every step away from you felt like another dagger to the heart.

 It was a difficult circumstance. Being so close to the love of your life, but not being able to talk to him. To look at him and see the eyes once filled with so much love and affection for you, now filled with hatred and disgust. To not know if you could talk to the one person you told everything to, and the person who told everything to you.

The one bright side was that you at least knew he was alive, even if it meant he’d look at you with such distaste. That, and the fact that he hadn’t attacked you like Peeta did to Katniss. It was a selfish thought, you knew that, but part of you hoped that it meant that President Snow hadn’t been able to hijack, that’s what the Haymitch told you the doctors were calling it, Finnick to the extent he did with Peeta. That you might have a chance to get him back. 

“Morning,” Finnick says to you, breaking you out of your thoughts as you sit in the cafeteria, not even bothering to eat your food. All you can do is give him a weak smile, barely even looking at him in fear of seeing that look of hatred again. 

“Is this seat taken?” He asks as you shake your head no. “Doctors want me to eat with you. See if it helps change my memories or something,” he begins eating his food as you hum in response and play with your food, not even bothering to look up at him. 

“That’s a nice bracelet, where’d you get it?” He asks, referring to the seashell bracelet on your wrist. 

“You made it for me,” you reply, finally looking up to meet his gaze, his eyes flickering briefly in something that looks like remembrance. 

“You told me you hated it,” he scoffs as you shake your head no. 

“I told you I loved it. It was one of the sweetest things you’ve ever done for me,” you whisper, dropping your eyes back to your plate.

“Doctors say they messed with my mind in the Capitol,” he quietly replies after a few beats of silence. “Says they altered some of my memories to make me hate you. Is that true?” 

“It looks like it.” You truly had told him you loved the bracelet when he had made it for you. The Capitol had even messed with his most mundane memories involving you, it seemed. 

“How am I supposed to know what’s made up or not?” It was a fair question. After all the Capitol put him through, he probably just wanted to know what was real and what wasn’t. 

“You could ask me. I know you might not fully trust me but,” you shrug, finally looking up at him again. He looked so tired. Scared. Hurt. It hurt you so much. “But I probably know you best out of everyone here. You could probably ask Johanna as well, though.”

“You left me at the arena to die, real or not real?” He asks after a beat of silence, looking at you like he was afraid of what your answer may be.

“Not real,” you reply. “The plan was if we protected Katniss and Peeta they’d get us out of the arena. But we had split up and Haymitch and Plutarch didn’t have enough time to look for the rest of you guys. They were only able to get the people at the lightning tree.”

He looks to the side as if processing the information. He does remember that, the two of you splitting up, him chasing after Peeta, an explosion that left him and Peeta unable to move. Wondering if you were still alive. If you were safe.

“I tried to get them to look for you guys, but they sedated me before I could put up much of a fight,” you tell him with a weak smile as he lets out a small laugh. 

“For some reason, I don’t doubt that,” he replies with a hint of a smile on his face. “We went to the beach every weekend, real or not real?”

“Real. We got a house near the beach so we could go for a swim whenever we wanted. We kinda ignored the houses they gave us at the Victor’s Village,” you tell him with a laugh. “You had said something about them being too stuffy, but I’m pretty sure you just liked being close to the water.”

He felt his heart skip a small beat. Had you really taken notice of something like that? To his love for the beach? Johanna had told him that you loved him, and while at first, he had a hard time believing it, right now, a small part of him hoped it was true. 

“You love me,” he whispers, “real or not real?” He looked away from you this time, his gaze dropping to his own food. Scared that maybe Johanna was wrong. That you didn’t love him. That he was right in hating you, because why else would you leave him in that arena? Why else-

“Real,” you whisper. 

He felt his heart skip another beat. “And I love you,” he whispers again, “real or not real?” His hand twitches slightly, as if he wanted to hold yours. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. 

“Real,” you reply, fidgeting with the seashell bracelet. “At least I hope so,” you joke, noticing his smile. A small part of Finnick knew it was true, that he truly did love you. Even if it was buried by the Capitol's attempts to get him to hate you, part of him knew his love for you, and in turn your love for him, was real.

[thefuseoftemptation]

TO BE ONE

finnick odair x fem!reader/ finnick odair x tribute!reader

warning(s): cussing, pre-established relationship, angst, the use of y/n, character death. lmk if there are more!

a/n: dk why I’m like this

—

“Finn?”

It was whispered out, head still held up, staring at the one person who you always looked for in times of reassurance, much like now. Your hand at your stomach.

It went through.

The tip of it sticking out from your back as the end of it—at the front— staring them in the eyes before you were removing it and lowering yourself, unable to stand anymore.

“No!” Finnick had caught you just before you could settle onto the sand, arm around your back just under your shoulders as the other was hovering over where the spear had been located— shaking as he saw the extent of its entry.

“Hey, hey, hey- look at me.” While you had been the whole time, never once removing your eyes away from his, it was more so to keep you up. Something said to keep you from thinking about what was going on. 

“It’s okay, you’re okay. We’re going to be okay, you hear me?”

Finnick was shaking, trembling even, as he held you— trying to comprehend where it took a turn.

You guys heard it before you saw it, the gasp, only to lookover and see Gloss holding Wiress. It all happened suddenly, nonetheless you reacted as the rest had. Like you were taught- trained. Katniss had gone after the other career tributes, you not far behind. And it wasn’t until Finnick looked up from where he was that he saw you had left, not taking a second to follow while he called out your names. 

There was never a time when his eyes weren’t on you, and if there was, they were always looking to make sure you were in his line of sight at least. So to know you weren’t, and not even in arms reach sent his stomach turning, even more so knowing where you guys were at of all places.

You had kept your eyes on Katniss as she kept hers on Brutus, all the while Finnick had been trying to recover from the sudden swipe he received from the former’s bow. It was too much to keep up with, too much to look after and knowing the way Katniss was, and how you also were– it didn’t ease Finnick’s job at trying to keep you all safe. 

He had caught up, swiftly moving himself in front of you, when Brutus had thrown his weapon. Finnick had avoided it, throwing his trident just as Katniss shot an arrow, neither of them knowing that it hadn’t been the same for you.

“Y/N, look at me, look at me.” Your eyes were glassy, as you stared up at him. He could see you, feel you, slipping through his fingers.

“We’re going to get out of here, okay? We’re going to get out of here.” Finnick repeated, most likely as a reassurance to himself. “I’ll-” he swallowed, “I’ll take you out when we get back, how’s that sound?” Finnick said, desperate to get something out of you. “We’ll go to the pier—you’ve always liked going there. ‘Member? It’s where we first met.” 

Your mouth had stretched up a little as you heard his words, tears leaving your eyes as you nodded along, as if it was going to be like that. Like it was going to happen.

Finnick pursed his lips, trying to hold back a sob as he watched you, not because he didn’t want the others to see, but because he didn’t want you to see. The grasp he had on your body, tightened, as if it was going to keep you there. One of his hands came up to your face, turning, as his knuckles grazed along the side of it.

He leaned down, your foreheads pressed to one another– his nose resting on top of yours. 

“I’ll be one-”

Finnick pulled away when he heard you, trying to speak. “I’ll be- I’ll be one of them.” You choked out. 

His brows furrowed, unsure of what you were referring to and like always, you knew what was going through his mind when you looked at him. Your head shifting, eyes now on the water. Finnick followed your line of sight, watching the water move– the waves. It was then that Finnick released a sob, nodding his head when he finally got what you were trying to say.

It had been around the time when you first met, ways ago, the both of you on the pier looking out.

While Finnick made sure to hold himself up right, it hadn’t meant it was always like that for him. Nevertheless, even after all that he had been through, he was still so truthful to himself. It's why you liked him, why you found it so easy to tell him things you never told anyone else before.

“If there was ever a time where I’d have to go back there” Finnick’s ears twitched at your words, understanding where that was. “I think I’d just let them get to me- I wouldn't try.” You whispered, your eyes still on the view in front of you. 

His head turned at what you said, waiting for you to go on knowing there was more.

“You know why?” You asked, not even giving him the chance to answer before you were speaking again. “Because I wouldn’t have to go on with knowing what I’ve done. It’d be over for me and I’d get to come back as one of those.” Your head nodded towards the waves.

“Nothing could ever get to me then.”

Finnick felt himself shaking his head, not at the thought but rather because he could understand. He could see it. And it was in the last few words you spoke that had him making a promise to not only you, but to himself. He’d never let anything get to you, no matter what.

“A wave, huh?” He said, letting out a breath. You finally looked at him, resting your cheek on your knee that was pulled into your chest. “Guess we’ll still be seeing a lot of each other.” He grinned, the meaning behind his sentence making your eyes water.

You knew there was no other place Finnick spent so much time at than the sea, and with your newly confessed thoughts, it had you grasping onto what you guys were to each other. 

Finnick kept calling you, hand on your neck as he turned your head to look at him. But when you hadn’t reacted to his movements, his stomach dropped further than where it already was. Then the canon went off.

"No, no, no!" It was frantic, falling from his lips as he tried to keep your head up.

“Hey,” your chin held between his fingers, “look at me.” Your eyes were staring up, still open, but no longer glowing. Their usual light was now gone as you laid there in his arms, unmoving. 

"Don't- Don't do this to me. Please, don't."

Finnick could hear his name being called, forgetting there were others. Still, he refused to listen, refused to pull his eyes away from you. Because look where it got him when he had.

"Finnick...."

He let out another sob, pulling you close and into his chest. “Not you- please not you.”

He promised. He promised to be there for you, to not let anything get to you like they had. After everything you’d been through, everything you’d done, it still wasn’t enough because in the end- it still left you where you had begun. Whether favored by the capitol or not.

His cries were harrowing to see and listen too.

“Finnick.” Johanna put her hand on his shoulder.

“We have to go.” She said, not liking having to be the one to tell him that, but they had to leave. They couldn’t stay there. 

“Y/N isn’t coming back.”

She’s said a lot of things in her years, but never had she ever thought she’d be saying that. You weren't just an ally- you were her friend, something she had very few of. If any at all. “She’s not coming back, Finnick.” 

She hadn’t wanted to say it and he hadn’t wanted to hear it. “We have to go.”

He knew she was right. It’s why it pained him so much more.

Finnick held you tighter, pressing his forehead to yours one last time before he was letting you go. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m so sorry.” It was like a mantra falling from his lips as he got up, pushing your body away and into the water. 

Peeta handed Finnick’s trident back, the latter taking it into his hold as he nodded his head– knuckles whitening as he gripped it.

As the others began to leave, Finnick stayed behind to watch the waves carry you further away. 

I want to be one of them.

'A wave, huh?'

A single tear falling from his eye as he stared out, seeing your face as he remembered your words that day.

And you were.

—

[oasinoebe]

The Haymitch and Gale Post Nobody Asked For

Haymitch and Katniss share plenty of similarities, but I can't stop thinking about how Haymitch's circumstances/young Haymitch's personality reminds me more of Gale than Katniss.

Just like Katniss and Haymitch, Gale also belongs to a very poor family and he lost his father in the mines. He has younger sibling(s) that he loves dearly, and he hunts to sustain his family.

Like Haymitch, Gale's mom does laundry and is generally a more present mother than Mrs Everdeen. Being from the poorest part of the district, both Gale and Haymitch (understandably) have some underlying resentment towards the richer people from town, especially the two rich blonde girls who own a ridiculously expensive gold pin (in the sypnosis, Haymitch describes Maysilee as "the most stuck up girl from town"). I am so, so interested to see how Haymitch's perception of Maysilee changes, since we already know that they end up allying in the games.

Gale’s perception of Madge would also have obviously changed when/if he found out that she had run all the way to the Victor's village in the middle of a snowstorm to bring extremely expensive Capitol morphling that managed to ultimately save Gale's life by providing him relief from the pain. Not to mention that Gale was technically a lawbreaker in the eyes of the new Peacekeepers and if they ever found out that she had helped a "criminal", Madge could be severely punished, the fact that she was the Mayor's daughter not really mattering anymore.

Katniss did not have any such prejudices about town/seam, at least not to the extent Gale did. Her best friend is the richest person in D12.

Somehow, Haymitch's persona (at least in the interviews that Katniss saw in CF) reminds me more Gale than Katniss. Katniss is a very quiet, reserved kind of girl, while Gale and Haymitch seem somewhat cockier.

I think that as Haymitch gets older, he becomes much more like Katniss, in the sense that he is more disillusioned and less angry at the world in general. He is also more compassionate. He only voted for the 76th games to lure Coin into a false sense of security because he just KNEW that our girl Katniss had something up her sleeve. He knows her that well.

I wonder if Haymitch ever saw himself in Gale just like he saw himself in Katniss?

(These may or may not be the ramblings of a delusional Gadge shipper who used to have a Haysilee phase)

[mssr-crumpled-paper]

Gale and the Unperfect Victim

Here I am, back again with Gale posting cause I still have more thoughts on him as a character.

So, today, I read the phrase "the perfect victim" which is a myth often used to discredit the experience of female victims of SA, to dictate a way that victims of violence/assault are "supposed" to act. And when i tell you the concept of a perfect victim to anything immediately made me think of Gale, as well as the state of colonial resistance at large.

I'd like to preface with the idea that there is no "perfect victim" to any systemic crimes perpetuated. There is no one acceptable way of acting or responding to oppression or violence. With that out of the way let's get into the Gale analysis.

I often see people talk about Gale in this specific formula:

"I still don't like Gale as a character. His anger is understandable but [insert violent response to state sanctioned violence here].

There always seems to be such a conditional in the people's eyes of what is and isn't justifiable violence or resistance. To what means is a war just is one of the central themes of THG (or at least I believe so anyways).

Now this question raises a really interesting point about Gale's character. Obviously, Gale is meant to represent the other end of the extremist spectrum: kill all Capitol people indiscriminately, no matter their disposition and beliefs or levels of innocence; take down the Capitol at all cost.

This, coupled with the fact that Peeta represents the other end of the spectrum (do the right thing and hold onto conscience, choosing humanity for all ends) might present Gale as a heartless, cold killer.

Here we meet the instance of a "perfect victim." Subjected to seemingly relatively the same levels of oppression (some would even argue that Peeta suffered more), Peeta still continuously chooses to pacify. He represents conscience, which manifests in the way that he is soft spoken, generally kind/compassionate, white, blond, merchant's kid, unquestioningly devout, barely ever angry. Do you hear it? The sounds of a perfect victim, someone you're supposed to feel bad for because he didn't deserve any of this.

This view is revoked from Gale, someone who's fought, hunt, and kill all his life. Angry, harsh, not as well-spoken or charismatic, a possessive weirdo sometimes, and violent. His response to violence is almost always with anger, with the biting of the tongue until it bleeds, and then it explodes in everyone's face. "Gale is understandable, but..."

It makes me wonder how much compassion and understanding and help we can truly extend to a person who doesn't respond to violence the way he's supposed to. When they don't lay down and take it, or brood in angry silence, or extend a gracious forgiving hand. People would say he lacks humanity or compassion but I would wholeheartedly disagree. His dedication to his people, to his family, to his friends, to Katniss has manifested into anger and hatred for an imperial machine that has never cared if he died or lived.

I find it funny that somehow, this is always a trait demanded to be fixed by the oppressed. Even in post-war, post-apocalyptic movies where previous minority groups establish a closed community that's hostile to outsiders, that's a moral failing on their part. It fails completely to view the responsibility of the Capitol people, whose true extent of innocence can be argued against (how innocent are you really, when you're an exploitative force actively participating in the deaths and oppression of the lower colony-like districts).

Which then leads me to the posts I've been seeing about Palestine. So much focus on constant martyrdom, which is so important. SO important. But why are we turning our eyes away from their resistance? The truth of it is gratuitous violence is not their first choice, and resistance is always so ugly. We distance ourselves away from the violence to excuse ourselves of the need to have to justify the means to life of an entire people.

"By what standard of morality can the violence used by a slave to break his chains be considered the same as the violence of a slave master?” - Walter Rodney

Do I agree with everything Gale does? No. I won't attempt to justify his notions of violence, but I will beg you to situate them within the asymmetrical power context in which they’re committed.

[winters-rose-daughterofcain]

Part 2 of Everlark and their parents lets go Peeta your turn now.

Now this one is harder. We know very little explicit information about Peeta's family so a lot of this will be inference and my own personal interpretation of the family and their dynamic based on what we do see, what we don't see, and the way Peeta acts, so if you disagree with me that's all good lol.

So first, Peeta grew up in an absuive household. That's not a debate that's explicitly canon. Him mother not only hits him, implied to be with something, but also calls him a worthless creature when he burns the bread for Katniss. No matter that circumstance that is not how you treat your eleven year old child, that is not how you treat any child period, and this clearly isn't a one off or first time. Even though we personally see very little of the abuse on page, I at least think its impact of Peeta is very clear.

This boy has abysmal self esteem, when he discovers Katniss and Haymich have hidden things from him again he feels as if they view him as weak and stupid and too dumb to get it, that's the automatic assumption even though we know that's so far from the truth it's laughable. But for a child that grew up being consistently insulted and belittled it's not that far of a jump to make.

His ability to lie, also I think is relevant here. That kind of ability with words doesn't come from nowhere, that doesn't just happen that's something practiced. A theme with Katniss and Peeta's talents throughout the trilogy is that even the things they are good at and that help them were born from necessity. Katniss is so good with a bow and practical survival skills because she had to be, because even though she grew to love hunting, she and her family would have died without it. Peeta's skill with art comes from working at the bakery it comes from years worth or practise and labor he put in as a child, and I think his ability to lie, manipulate, mask his true feelings and talk his way though things stems from a similar place. His mother is called 'the witch' colloquially, we see she clearly has a temper and resorts to violence and insults quickly. A lot of children who grow up in abuse grow to be very charming, they learn how to lie and manipulate the situation to get themselves out of trouble and to keep themselves and potentially their siblings safe. At least to me Peeta's unmatched ability to impact and morph a situation with just his words could very easily be linked back to his childhood. We all love that Peeta is such a good manipulator but only ever uses it for good, and I think this is partially why, because he doesn't even want to be necessarily, it was a skill born for survival. His mothers cruelty is also shown very much to not be reserved purely for him, she chases starving children away from their empty bins, speaks awfully about the seam and the people from it.

His father is a complicated man. he clearly dose have love for Peeta and is shown many times to be a kind man at his core. But he is passive. He may bring Katniss cookies and make generous trades, he may have been the one to impart that inherent kindness we see in him onto Peeta, and may have been the only safe adult in the house, but he is passive. We don't know the extent of how much he steps in when his wife starts acting out, but from what we can see of her effect of Peeta clearly not enough. He also doesn't come to live with him after the games, none of them do. And while I understand practically that might not be the most reasonable situation, a newly disabled, traumatised sixteen year old boy was still left to live alone. His family may have visited often, they still talk we see him going to dinner with them, but I think their lack of mention speaks more than anything else here.

The relationship between his parents was also not exactly the best model to grow up observing. When he is five years old his dad tells Peeta is was in love with another woman, he points out her child to him, explains how he lost her. There is no addendum of how much he loves his mother now, how it was in the past. Peeta grew up with parents he was acutely aware did not love each other and from what we see and here, don't even pretend to act like it.

Now how dose this relate to Katniss. This first part is more my own speculation so ignore me if you disagree, but Katniss in the first games mentions Peeta doing certain things with her she remembers her parents doing, and wondering where he learnt it from, thinking surely not his own parents. And I think she's right, I think he learnt it from hers. Peeta is observant, I think after his father pointed out Katniss and her mother he payed attention, not just to Katniss but to her parents as well. I think he was a little fascinated by this family, these parents who clearly adore each other these children with skin clear of bruises who have never been made to feel like nothing from there parents who clearly think the world of them. There was six years from when Peeta noticed her to Mr Everdeens death, that's six years for him to observe this family and their love. Not obsessively, not even knowingly, but I think it happened. I think the Everdeens weren't just Katniss's reference for a relationship but Peeta's as well. I don't think she was the only one drawing comparisons, even if he didn't completely realise what he was doing.

(Additional evidence for this pointed out by @intellectual-punk in Mockingjay Haymitch tells Katniss the doctors showed Peeta the propo of her singing The Hanging Tree and he recognized the song and Katniss says she doesn’t know how he could as he never heard her sing it. Haymitch says he remembers her father singing it as their fathers traded. Peeta hasn't heard this song since he was 11, he’s 17 at the time of remembering it. So for him to remembering it after so long after last hearing it and clearly not hearing it around the house we can imagine that her father must have sang it near every time the two men traded and that Peeta was either specifically listening to his singing as he knows from his father that that is how Mr Everdeen won over Mrs Everdeen or he was just generally paying attention to the man either on his own or in relation to Katniss.)*Found in notes {Thank you so much for this}

I also think, going back to people seeking out the familiar, that Katniss reminded him in certain ways of his father. They're both quiet, both people associated with providing food in one way or another. I think he see's her in the way that while they both clearly love him, they both struggle to show him, leaving him to question it for a long time. But where his father fails to protect him, Katniss doesn't. Katniss doesn't have his fathers passivity, far from it, Katniss Everdeen is anything but passive. She actively works to protect him and others, she speaks out loudly when she finds something wrong, she still has that kindness, but it never gets in the way of what's necessary.

This is also where I see his mother come in, I think he dose see some similarities there. In their tempter, in the sharp way they can use their words, in the way she underestimates him in the beginning and even hurts him on occasion, shoving him into the vase (I think?) and cutting his hands after the first interview. But in so many ways Katniss is the opposite. Peeta may have developed a crush because of her voice, but he falls in love because of the way she helps people, because he knows her intrinsically and intrinsically Katniss is someone who cares. He always comments on her healing ability, even if she finds it lacking it's clearly something he loves about her, hands that heal instead of hurt. His mother was cruel to everyone especially those less fortunate, meanwhile Katniss would give everything on her to those who need it more. He see's the similarities yes, and unconsciously that familiarity might be a small drive towards her, but ultimately he loves Katniss for the ways in which she is different from his mother, the ways in which his mother failed, for the ways in which she stepped in where his father fell short. As well as for a lot of other reasons of course, but I think his parents impact is definitely something to consider.

[ongreenergrasses]

more Annie thoughts bc she’s that girl fr. Along the lines of victors as found family, i wanna believe that she also serves as an older, protective mags-like or sisterly like figure to katniss and esp to Johanna and peeta while in the capitol. There’s not much to support this, but at the very least she’s the oldest among them, and she’s got some wisdom and I bet my ass mags was passing wisdom to her too. We see that she’s beloved by other characters and her strength in spearheading healing in their new future. I really hate when she’s infantilized *eye roll* when she’s literally been through as much if not more than the other characters. and just bc she suffers from mental illness doesn’t implicitly mean she can’t/doesn’t take care of herself and others smh. +++I’m delusional and wanna start the hc that katniss switched her classic braid to a fishtail in mockingjay bc Annie showed her, reminiscent of the prim/katniss dynamic. i think those kiddos are in good hands with Annie and haymitch 🫣 Thoughts?

anon I am loving all of this…and yeah. it really bothers me when she’s infantilized because it is stemming out of that thing where people are conflating being mentally ill with being unable to take care of oneself or others. sometimes this is true. it is not always true and it’s honestly ableist to immediately jump to infantilization and assume that mentally ill equals unable to care for yourself. she’s a single mom! yes, she probably needs support because of her mental illness, but she also needs support in being a single mom! there’s no grounds to infantilize her or make her incapable because who we see in canon is actually someone that’s very competent and adaptable. she’s experiencing psychosis, but that doesn’t automatically negate those other qualities of hers.

i really like thinking about her relationship with Johanna and Peeta! Peeta made an enormous, gorgeous wedding cake for her! (it’s not for Finnick lmao, he makes that very clear - in mj he’s incredibly antagonistic towards him for a while.) I think that the three of them were probably supportive of each other in the Capitol to the extent that they could be, and she and Peeta clearly had some sort of connection for him to agree to do that for her. I think Annie ends up being very important to Peeta because she’s someone that he can look up to, someone who also struggles with their mental health but who is able to have a beautiful and full life, and I think that would be so important for Peeta to see as he goes through the slow process of recovery.

for Katniss, i think she and Annie both know about people assuming things about them and not seeing them for who they really are, albeit in different ways, so they would be able to connect in that way. I think Katniss has a lot of preconceived notions about Annie and they don’t fully go away at least during the course of the trilogy, but I think Annie would also be invested in trying to make sure that Katniss and Peeta are doing all right. people handle grief in a lot of weird ways but Annie clearly reaches out in the movie and it’s implied she also reaches out in the book, so i can see her being one of those people that starts trying to care for everyone around her as a coping mechanism, and Katniss and Peeta need a lot of support and care. like it or not Annie’s one of the adults in the room, so to speak, and I think she would accept that responsibility and try to be there for them in any way she could.

also i love the headcanon ngl, it’s sweet!

[marta-bee]

Walking home. I was thinking about how in The Hunger Games, the leaders of Panem weren't the ones actually inspiring the revolution. President Coyne until the end worked as a competent governor. Commander Paylor, the army officer from District 8 who actually went on to become president, certainly was. But it was Katniss and Rue and Peeta and Gale and to a lesser extent Finnick, Cinna, maybe even Prim that inspired people to actually do something.

I'm thinking about that what with the thought I keep hearing, that Democrats aren't doing enough to resist Trump. Congressmen particularly. Some probably could and I certainly wish they were doing more. Jasmine Crockett, AOC, and Liz Warren all spring to mind, and I'm sure there are others. But mostly they're competent to do a certain job, which may not always be the same as a revolutionary. They're fine. Some are better than others of course. But I'm not sure they're really sorted to saving us from the current moment. At least we don't just need them.

Danielle Sassoon is inspiring and certainly reminded me we all have integrity. Michael Fanone, the Capitol policeman who was assaulted by the J6 traitors so much he nearly died, and later had his family harassed and protection orders denied after the pardons, seems like he could be another. The former Gen. Milley, too, for having the courage to speak honestly about Trump during the election. All the federal employees who refused to step down when they were fired illegally, or resigned in protest, or risked their own careers in the national interests or to protect their teams (Brian Driscoll at FBI and David Lebryk at Treasury jump to mind).

I'm not trying to let our actual elected representatives off the hook. I wish they were better able to do more. I hope they still will. But as I catalog the news and share it bit by bit, I guess I'm just seeing Katnisses all around me. It's just that they're not in the usual places you'd think they'd be. Then again, these are unusual times.

[thecaffeinebookwarrior]

Why do you think Kylo hasn’t been called a Mary Sue? I actually see him as a male example of one. He’s also badly written: we never know his motivations, he’s written to be sympathetic even though we firsthand witness him being cruel and remorseless about it, we don’t know why he wants to be evil, every character is forced to be nice to him even after aforementioned cruel acts and a shitty ‘redemption’, etc.

He’s the worst character of the new trilogy. He’s not intriguing, he’s not relatable, he’s not cool, he’s got no charm or pizazz. I know others feel differently but I just can’t stand him at all. What’s your analysis of this?

Thank you!

Hello there! Going to geek out for a bit and share some controversial opinions here.

I think all the flaws in Kylo's writing that you mentioned are 100% valid, though I will also say that I do personally find him to be a better written character than Rey. Why? Because there's an element of narrative tension to Kylo's character that Rey's character lacks.

This isn't a compliment to the writers. It's a byproduct of the fact that they themself didn't know what they were going to do with Kylo, and were waiting to see audience reactions to base their decisions around that.

This is true for a lot of elements of the Star Wars sequel trilogy (and the original trilogy to an extent to, though in lieu of the internet, it all felt a little bit more spontaneous and less...algorithmically generated).

But Rey was always going to stay good, and we, the audience, never doubted that or were given actual reason to suspend disbelief about it (like, yes, the odds of Luke following in Darth Vader's footsteps were also negligible, but the pull of the Dark Side felt way more real and tangible as Vader and Palpatine were tempting him).

I DO think Rey had a lot of potential as a character, and liked her in the first movie especially, but she was just increasingly blandly written. And a lot of that blandness came from a lack of narrative tension. There was no seduction from the Dark Side, no moment where we were really forced to question if we'd give into it in her position.

Now, Kylo had SO many narrative flaws, probably more than Rey. But at least we didn't know whether he was going to rejoin the Light Side, because the writers themselves didn't know. He could be REALLY villainous and unlikeable, but there was also a door left open for redemption - because the writers were waiting to see if that's what audiences wanted.

I can't speak for anyone else, but to me that's personally why Kylo ended up being a more interesting character than Rey, albeit not a particularly well-written one.

As to why he's never called a Mary Sue, obviously there's a big gender element to that - the term is almost exclusively applied to female characters, often by people who don't like women very much.

But I'm going to dip my toe into the waters of controversy here: a lot of producers, directors, and writers try and hide behind "strong" female characters to justify bad, shallow writing. A female character being "strong" won't make her interesting, likeable, or iconic.

Granted, people who don't like women will call ANY powerful female character a Mary Sue (or similar terms) but a well-written female character can usually attract enough adoration to drown those complaints out more.

Like, for example, The Bride from Kill Bill. Jackie Brown. Ellen Ripley from Alien. Katniss Everdeen from Hunger Games. Clarise Starling from Silence of the Lambs. Agent Scully from X Files. Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. Evelyn and Joy from Everything Everywhere All At Once. Princess Leia!

Yes, misogynists are going to hate, say, the most recent incarnation of She-Hulk (who's AMAZING in the comics, I'm so mad about it), but their hatred doesn't make her a well-written character by default. She's simply badly written in the show (in my opinion. Please don't kill me).

And I really, really want more iconic characters, male and female. That's why I demand better writing for both, and won't accept any cheap cop-outs.

Okay, this has turned into sort of a rant that doesn't have much to do with your original question. Forgive me.

Looping back to your original point, I do actually agree with all of your points about the flaws in Kylo's writing! And I hope you don't mind me using it as an opportunity to vent some of my Opinions.

P.S. Please don't jump me Star Wars people, the reason I'm opinionated about it is because I do really love it, especially the original trilogy (and more controversially, the prequel trilogy). Also, you guys make some beautiful fanworks, and really give a lot of these characters the depth and care that they deserve.

[mimzi24]

The ballad of songbirds and snakes

Plot. 64 years before the 74th Hunger Games, 10 years after the Rebellion, the once wealthy and powerful Snow family is now struggling, with 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, his 21-year-old cousin Tigris Snow, and their grandmother being the last living members.

personal thoughts:

This is one of the best prequels i have ever seen, it touches perfectly on the other victors stories from mags to katniss. It also brings an entirely new view onto the games as we can now see it from the view of someone outside of the games, which i think made the games to an extent more human as now looking back at coral or mizzen them going on to form alliances and end up being some of the first careers dont make them these threats looming over our heads but rather kids just wanting to go home. The small details make snows story even more realistic like with the prominent family names such as heavensbee, crane and flickerman. It was interesting to see tigris snow's story as we briefly meet her at mockingjay where we find out that she was a stylist in the games until snow kicked her out. This all added up to a worthy and good sequel to the original trilogy.

Personal thoughts spoilers:

Throughout this movie a lot of snows personal traits were shown through other characters which i think just added more to the title. How he cheated by giving lucy gray the rat poison to kill the other tributes similarly to how he goes to poison casca highbottom and how he ends up becoming the president through this. This is a more sensitive topic but it makes this story line much more true and honest as they have recently come out of a war that almost lead to the extinction of panem, but tigris and lucy gray are heavily hinted at having to sell their bodies to make sure food was on the table. Snow who has been sheltered by all of these burdens by tigris is immature about it even when both tigris and lucy gray tell him that, this is what they had to do to, quoting tigris “Then be kind, Coryo, and try not to look down on people who had to choose between death and disgrace” yet he does constantly even going as far as selling the "attractive" tributes some as young as 16. If they reject this? their family and loved ones are killed.

The intense amount of care that is shown for these characters are most prominent in the book and film. I mean by the names as each of their names mean something much deeper then some of the original names and meaning in the original trilogy. I do have some complaints tho, as the pacing of the third and final part was not up to par as it was rushed in the book and subsequently in the movie. I think it would have made more sense if snow had at least stayed with Lucy gray in the cabin for a day before going into his psychotic episode rather than less then 12 hours in.

World building: 9/10

Content:9.5/10

Plot:9/10

Pacing:7/10

Overall:8.5/10

@aurvmz thank u for helping with this review a bit.

[waywardangel-wilds]

What do you think about Mother's role in characters' life of The Hunger Games series?

Do you think there is correlation of their situation with their action?

Thank you :)

@curiousthg

I love this. I get the meaty questions. Well, here we go.

A part of me thinks the author might just not have a good relationship with her own mother herself because we get not one but at least 2 characters who have bad relationships with their mothers in the main trilogy. Unrelated, but I also think it's a fun parallel how both Snow and Katniss idolize their fathers but one family is evil and the other one isn't.

I think the 'bad' mothers are written in as a tool to tell us about the character and to kickstart some character development as well. For Katniss, I think this part of the story is fascinating. Katniss tries to imply to us several times that she has divorced herself from any deep affection for her mother. Yet, the part I love most about this characterization throughout the series is that it shows us not only 1) how Katniss is very much still a child, but 2) how deeply Katniss cares.

When you truly emotionally divorce yourself from a family member (especially a parent) you don't think about them in the way Katniss does. (Forgive me if you disagree, but I think I can speak on this because I have done this and I truly never think of this person unless he is brought up in conversation). Katniss thinks about her mother in a manner that lets me know she is hurt in the way you can only be hurt when you still care and when you want the other person to show you that they care about you at all. Her feelings lead her to this sort of emotional 'stuntedness' where she disallows herself from love outside of Prim. I see that as a clear example of a hurt kid. When children are hurt in this deep emotionally visceral way they tend to snap back, kind of like a hurt animal. That's what I see here, and that's why I think Katniss is written this way. It's to show us 1) who she is and where she is in life, 2) how the structural injustices in her District have put her family and herself in this position, 3) set us up for her emotional journey throughout the series, 4) is a great example of just the humanity that's baked into Katniss's character.

So for Katniss's mother, I think that the situation is way more complicated than just the situation because it has a narrative purpose. But yes, I also (of course) agree that the circumstances that lead up to the situation are direct results of the environment. Katniss isn't the only one in the family who grew up in District 12, so by environment, I don't just mean the lack of depression treatment available to her mother after her father's death, I mean her whole life. Her whole life was complicated. Anyways, yes, there is a correlation between the situation and actions there but it's so much more.

As for Peeta's mother, there is nothing there for us to chew on. Just speculation. But I do think that what we see has great narrative purpose. Katniss's reaction to her own mother is (to me) one side of the coin and on the other side, you have Peeta's reaction / coping method. Where Katniss decided to shut herself off to people Peeta decided that people would be his weapon. Katniss sees connection as a threat or a weakness, and Peeta sees it as a possibility. At the same time, he doesn't shy away from emotions. We see he's very sensitive. I think that's because he sees connections as something valuable although he does develop the ability to use that to his own advantage, he remains capable of separating that 'survival' skill from genuine emotion, which I think is super cool, but also something you'd probably only find in fiction.

Do I think Peeta's mother is a result of her environment? Sure. From what I know about parents who beat their kids they are always the results of their environment to a certain extent. It's always a choice, but generational trauma is certainly a factor. So, same as Katniss's mother you'd have to factor in that she has also lived her entire life in a bleak and terrible place, but that is still no excuse. Katniss's mother didn't beat her kids, but she also didn't get up from that chair. Even when you're a victim there are still choices you can make, and Mrs. Mellark certainly chose wrong. Mrs. Everdeen always feels somewhat forgivable due to the mental health aspect, but she also chose wrong. I know women who've been horribly depressed, horribly horribly, and without any resources, but they still got up, didn't end their lives, and made the right choice for their kids. There's always a choice.

Anyway, sorry for that rant. I tried to stop myself from sharing personal details on the internet but this is a topic I know a bit about.

[thegreatmelodrama]

One of my favorite and underrated lines from the Catching Fire movie is when Johanna says, “love is weird.” Because weird isn’t usually the first word that comes to mind when we think about love. However, it is so fitting. In some ways, it connects to Finnick telling Katniss about how Annie and his love for her “crept up on him.” Similar in many respects to how Katniss realized she loved Peeta. However, it also applies to platonic love as well. Katniss, who has a hard time making friends and is closed-off (and understandably so), came to love (in her own way) various people throughout the series besides Prim/her family. Cinna, Rue, Haymitch, Finnick, and Johanna (all to some extent -- at least in my opinion). Relationships forged within and from the toughest of circumstances. It reminds me of the pearl Peeta gives Katniss and how Katniss recalls Effie’s words (though factually wrong, are still important): pearls forged from coal. Beauty forged from pain. Love is weird not just because it can bring together the unlikeliest of people, but because it can emerge (even when we least expect or desire it) during even the hardest of circumstances. However, love can also fall apart, as we see with Gale and Katniss (though I will always argue that it was the decline of a platonic love). Basically, love can be romantic or platonic; it can happen at first sight or creep up on us. It can be expressed in all sorts of ways, emerge in all sorts of scenarios, take on all sorts of forms (whether they be positive or negative—some may question if it is love at that point, but that’s a different discussion entirely), and even break down over time right before our very eyes (sometimes unannounced to us). It can be/do all of these things at the same time. Love is just weird like that.

[hungergameshyperfixation]

🧸and 🎶 for Maysilee Donner for the ask game.

Thank you very much!

Oh my gosh yay!!

🧸 = A headcanon about their childhood

🎶 = A headcanon about music.

🧸 Maysilee is a twin, so of course that would come with a lot of ‘twin’ related headcanons, but I wanted to explore some adjacent ideas. I think her and Mrs. Everdeen met when they were little, probably all running within a similar circle (probably due to location, living in a similar neighborhood and receiving a similar education). Maysilee is implied to be pretty brave in CF, at least through Katniss’s/the 50th game’s perspective, so I can see her being a bit more outspoken as a child. Maybe she is the one to stand up for her sister and Mrs. Everdeen, if the time ever came for it. She probably wouldn’t question the system in the same way someone from the Seam might, but I think she would adjust to the system and ‘push back’ within it. I’m writing this pretty off the cuff so forgive me for not like communicating it well. I think she might not see the broad scope injustice of it all, but would still be very morally motivated.

Anyway, thing this back to her childhood, (💀💀💀💀) I headcanon that she spent a lot of time outdoors. Completely random to what I just rambled about but I swear they’re connected in my mind. She’d prefer the playground or walking around the Merchant area compared to being bored inside. Maybe. Idk! Jk.

🎶 I think Maysilee, like most people (but especially what we see of District 12) loves music to some extent. I like to think maybe she or her twin had a music box, one of those nice ones that you can wind up; it was probably one of the few niceties they had (they were from the merchant area and not the seam, but given both their generation and district, it probably wasn’t like they were wealthy by any means).

We know she had a canary, and I like to think she loved the sounds her canary made more than anything. Or, given what we know about what canaries mean in district twelve, maybe her canary is a reminder of the harsh world around her. I’m so indecisive because I could see multiple different headcanons being true, even if they contradict each other, but for right now I want to mostly focus on the positives lol.

BUT I will say this—I think that Maysilee loved her canary, especially since she (likely) did not have to worry about the mines; in some sense, one could say that it’s a complex depiction of a certain privilege? The privilege to love something without the association it has to others. Her love of her canary and their sounds is detached from what it represents to those who are directly affected by the mines and/or the loss that comes with them.

This was hard to narrow down and choose what to share! Thank you for the ask!!

~~~~~~

The ask game post link: https://www.tumblr.com/hungergameshyperfixation/760287170742370304/proudfreakmetarusonniku-metaruus-headcanon-ask

[fallsekings]

The 50th Hunger Games: "I don't see that it makes much difference. They'll still be one hundred percent as stupid as usual, so I figure my odds will be roughly the same." ~ Haymitch

So I've been thinking about the Hunger Games recently, especially with the announcement of the new book coming out and it being about Haymitch. I had always wondered why the Capitol saw his win as a defiance, bad enough that it merited Snow targeting his entire family and having them killed as a result of his games. But I wanted to put my thoughts out there and the effects that it had on Haymitch as a person and how he ended up being the mess that he is.

First I want to take a look at his games, which took place in the Second Quarter Quell and how it was "special" compared to prior Hunger Games. The 50th Games took more tributes than average. Normally it is one girl and one boy, but for the special edition, they took two boys and two girls from each district. And it took place in a highly poisonous arena. Lots of plants were poisonous so it made it especially difficult for the tributes to find food to eat.

Haymitch came across as defiant and arrogant in his interview before the game, which we already know that that is a big nono.

The Gamemakers 100% rig the games, at least to a certain extent. They watch everything that they do behind the scenes and they manipulate the events within the arena in the direction that they want the fight to go in. This creates drama, which is good for ratings, which is what they want. We see them doing this in the first 3 books. So they had probably already chose a victor already and Haymitch wasn't it.

Haymitch stayed out of the fighting for most of the match itself. He got into a few fights, but largely he kept to himself, in an attempt to find something and he found the edge of the arena, where there was a forcefield. And he tested it by throwing a couple of rocks to see what happened and they bounced right off. However, Haymitch staying out of the fighting for most of his games, made him a boring tribute for the audience, which is why Haymitch wasn't the victor that they wanted.

The Victor that they had wanted was obviously his opponent, that he had his final showdown with. A more exciting candidate for the audience of the games to cheer for and that was the District 1 career tribute that came at him with an axe at the end of his games. I don't want to go into gory details, because it did get messy. But suffice it to say she threw the axe at him and he dodged it and it bounded off of the forcefield and hit the career tribute in the head. Thus crowning him Victor.

So the point of all of this? Snow wanted to humble Haymitch and his defiance and arrogance towards the Capitol. They also hated him for ruining an extra special Hunger Games by accidentally killing their chosen Victor. He stayed out of the fighting for so long and then he just accidentally won? Boring tribute is boring for the citizens of the Capitol. It all led to the Capitol wanting to make an example out of Haymitch for not playing by their rules. He played by his own rules.

For his punishment, they killed his family. His father wasn't in the picture, much like Katniss's father who died, so we can assume that Haymitch's dad met the same fate as hers did and died in the coal mines. So, he was "the man of the house", taking care of his mother and his younger brother. Snow had them both killed, and his girlfriend as well.

But his punishment didn't really end there. After his Games, that made him a mentor. Each year he had to mentor two children, and since he was from a poverty stricken and malnourished district... the tributes always lost and died in the arena. I think Haymitch probably did try at first, but after a while he did give up. Since his Hunger Games was the 50th, he had to mentor 51-73 Hunger games which roughly leads to 44 children dying under his watch before he met Peeta and Katniss, so you can imagine why he was pretty jaded by the 74th Hunger Games.

Anyways this is what is already known about Haymitch's backstory with the exception of his partnership, with one of the tributes from District 12, Maysilee. It will be interesting to see how this story is fleshed out in more detail tbh.

[mariesstudying]

From Katniss' POV, we know that every district has specialization about their main product or industry, such as District 3 (technology), D4 (fishing), D12 (coal) etc.

What kind of economic system do you think Panem have?

If we can draw parallel with real world right now, which country is the most similar with Panem?

What's your opinion about this situation on Panem and its system?

Thank you 😊

@curiousnonny

@curiousnonnyblog @curiousthg

I feel a bit ill-equipped to answer this question since I know nothing about economics but I’ll try my best.

According to the google search I just did, Panem has what is a called a command economy. I think this fits since it’s fair to assume to the Capitol dictates what is produced where. Of course, this isn’t a random decision, the natural resources and stuff of the district would be used to dictate this.

Whilst I can’t think of a specific country, it’s pretty normal for certain areas/regions to be largely based on a certain product/export. However, I’m not sure of any specific country where 1 area has one product and literally nothing else they export.

It’s obvious that this system works, at least to some extent. It’s a system ultimately designed to support and benefit the Capitol. They reap the benefits but don’t really do anything themselves (minus the peacekeepers I guess). I think it also adds to keeping each district isolated from one another. Not only do the districts never see or meet one another, but they have no overlap in their exports. Their knowledge (at least regarding their trade) is limited to what their district does and I’m willing to bet they focus education largely on the districts export and not so much on other districts.

[ivegotalongmemory]

a messy exploration of victor outfits, the sexualisation of victors, the lack of sexualisation of katniss and peeta, and a brief analysis of the symbolism of the wedding attire worn in the quell interviews

fyi: includes mentions of forced prostitution and things like that

also fyi: this is a big thought dump, not very well edited

In my headcanon, most of the victors (especially those who are likely in the Capitol more often, like Finnick, Cashmere, Gloss, etc) have more personalised styles that have been developed by their personal stylists. Still relating to their districts, but more nuanced to fit them as an individual, or rather, to fit the image that the Capitol created for them. Take the ‘prostitutes’ for example. People like Finnick and Cashmere who we know are incredibly popular, and I imagine a lot of their image in the Capitol is based around their sex appeal. We can also throw Gloss into this category (and also likely many other victors, but we’ll keep it to these 3 for now). From what we can see, their quell outfits are definitely reminiscent of their respective districts, but it’s also clear that they’re made to look extra sexy and attractive and glamorous, because that’s their Capitol image. We know the movies obviously had to change things to make it PG-13 (I still wish we got an 18 rated series, but it’s understandable as to why we didn’t), and so a lot of things are glossed over, like the whole prostitution thing, and a lot of other more cruel and brutal aspects from the books. The clothes are also different. I mean, we obviously didn’t get Finnick’s net outfit from the tribute parade, which from what I remember is probably the most explicit outfit that’s mentioned. It’s obvious just from that; Finnick is a sex symbol, and it’s likely most of his outfits, are equally as risqué, and this probably goes for the others that Snow sells out, or that are deemed attractive enough to be popular in the Capitol.

Then when it comes to Katniss and Peeta, we get the opposite of this, and there’s many reasons which I’d like to dive into. Firstly they’re teenagers, but then again, when has that ever stopped the Capitol? I mean we have previous tributes like Glimmer, who’s whole persona is based around being “sexy”, and probably hundreds of other “attractive” tributes. Finnick, again, who was 14, was likely pushed down this route too. The key factor in Katniss and Peeta’s case, though, is Cinna. Cinna, who we know is likely involved in the revolution to some extent. From his very first appearance, he doesn’t want to make District 12’s outfits stupid. He’s different, and that’s shown to us from his very first line. Yes, Cinna is there to glam them up, just like every stylist, and he does. Katniss especially is sporting heavy makeup for her Capitol appearances, with elaborate hair etc. They still make her look more attractive for the Capitol’s eyes. But their outfits are nothing like the typical sexed up, revealing, or even humiliating clothes that most of the tributes and victors are probably forced into. They’re entirely modest, and as far as Capitol outfits go, relatively normal, even boring on occasions. So as far as fashion goes, they were lucky to have Cinna.

Another factor is that Katniss and Peeta (at least as it appears to the Capitol) are together. They’re a couple. And very in love. I imagine a lot of the ‘sex symbol’ personas of some of the victors relies on the fact that they are single. I’m paraphrasing here but somewhere in the books Katniss says something about Finnick having ‘a string of lovers in the Capitol’. Essentially, she’s saying he gets around. We, as readers/watchers, later find out that this is not true, and that he’s in love with Annie. We can assume Snow forces his sold victors into keeping up an illusion of being womanizers, or maneaters, and to most of the public, both in the Capitol and in the districts, it looks like they’re willingly sleeping with half the Capitol. It’s all a form of control; it keeps the victors and their images tightly in check, which is what Snow wants. The demand for buying victors that are seemingly off the market is likely much less than it is for the others, although probably not completely zero, but that’s another sick conversation to dive into another time. Katniss and Peeta are the Capitol’s favourite couple, and I strongly believe that had there been no love story and no rebellion, they both likely would have ended up with the same fate as people like Cashmere and Finnick. Ultimately, their fabricated love is what saves them.

Speaking of the wedding outfits themselves: the Capitol literally get to choose Katniss’ wedding dress, so they’re clearly invested in the 2 as a couple and adore them. They see them as a young, innocent, pure couple, truly in love, and so the sexualization just isn’t there (at least from what we see). It’s still all a form of control though. We know Snow essentially forces Katniss into wearing the wedding dress. It’s a ‘fuck you’ to the other victors and a reminder of what many of them will never have. If I remember correctly from the books, Cashmere scoffs at it. It’s unclear whether this is from her knowing it’s a typical over the top Capitol choice, or whether she is genuinely bothered by the insinuation of Katniss wearing this in regards to herself and her fellow victors. Either way, Snow knows it will cause tension.

The fashion choices for both Katniss and Peeta’s outfits here also seem deliberate in regards to putting a message across to the districts, especially Katniss’ family. For one thing, like every Capitol outfit, they’re expensive. I mean, just look at the wedding dress. Yes, it’s stunning, but it’s also the peak of luxury. Not a single person in the districts would ever be able to have that kind of clothing, not even the richest of the rich in districts 1 and 2. I’d go as far as saying that even those of the lower Capitol classes could only dream of something like what Katniss wears. She’s the vision of envy, and all it does is further separate her from the ‘ordinary’ people of Panem. And finally, while it’s obvious, the wedding clothes are white. It might seem typical, but think about it. The people of District 12, where they spend their lives coal mining and the like, or District 11, where they’re farming all the time, probably never wear white clothing. In fact, most of the district people probably don’t, simply for practicality. White gets dirty very easily. It’s not practical, especially when you’re doing hard labour most of the time. Most of the district 12 kids are wearing white or other pale colours at the reaping, so we can assume that they save these for their best occasions and get them out only once a year. We still do this these days, I mean, we all have ‘nice clothes’ that we only wear for special occasions and that we don’t want to ruin. I wouldn’t wear half the things in my wardrobe to go farming or tree cutting or fishing. Katniss and Peeta’s outfits are pristine, something that is likely foreign to the districts. It pushes the tension between the districts and the Capitol, and it’s telling the districts to look at the victors, this is the life of luxury they’re living now, etc etc. It’s a way of saying, “these kids are not yours anymore, they’re ours.”