ktb0331

[ktb0331]

peeta: breathes

katniss, internally: hm. interesting. strategic. emotionally destabilizing. soft. fluffy. uncalled for.

[ktb0331]

Haymitch and his ducklings

[ktb0331]

*mid season 2*

spencer: i don’t drink energy drinks, they’re not good for you

emily: you’re a drug addict

[ktb0331]

Peeta Mellark is an integral member of the four D12 victors. He is literally the sunset on the reaping! How is this not clear? I’ve never wanted to report people for bad literary analysis more and I’m only half joking. It has forced me to commit a cardinal sin: analyze in anger!

1. Him being chosen by absolute accident is the point. Not only does he represent every single other tribute who simply gets chosen because they live in a messed up country but he represents how even with some odds being in your favor (older siblings, merchant family, being white, being popular, etc.) you are still very likely to be victimized by the oppressive structure of Panem.

2. When Haymitch says, “But she was smarter than me, or luckier” - the luck is all the people around Katniss who created the circumstances for her to lead a successful revolution (her father teaching her to hunt, the arena having woods, Rue healing her with leaves, Thresh not killing her, Haymitch consistently giving her support, her mother teaching her aspects of medicine, on and on and on) and Peeta is the number one, most important part of her luck in the first book. She has someone in the games actively putting her life before his… are you kidding? There is legitimately no better luck than that.

3. Even if we take Katniss out of it, Peeta is so impactful as a victor because most of his scenes would not be cut/doctored. What’s there to edit out? Instead, the viewers get a full view of him loving a girl so selflessly, using trickery and strategy instead of violence, keeping himself alive through art, joking on literal death’s door, and sharing so much of himself with the audience it becomes harder for them not to see him as a real human boy. How rare do you think that is for the games? Haymitch and LGB are caricatures of themselves in the games, playing roles that flatten them down. Even Katniss becomes one dimensional on screen without Peeta (and Rue, of course). It is also heavily implied that he does not kill anyone during the games (in a straightforward way) and even if you count Cato or the girl from 8 or even foxface, it’s never him hunting them or seeking out a kill - again how rare do you think that is to see on screen for Games viewers?

4. I didn’t think this needed to be said but: Katniss dies without Peeta in the first games. a) she goes for the bow and dies in the bloodbath; b) she is hunted and killed by Careers; c) she is killed by game makers because there’s no love story angle to keep them from just burning her entirely; d) she dies from tracker jacker stings or Cato because Peeta doesn’t defend her or tell her to run… I could go on…

5. But even if she does win and wins alone - the victory means as much (I would argue less than) any other rebellious victor winning, certainly less than Haymitch’s win. The biggest rebellion for their games is that two of them win! This is legit the only thing that distinguishes them from any other sympathetic, kind child who would have won the games. Like if Haymitch or Finnick or Wiress winning isn’t jarring enough for the Games to end… why do you think Katniss killing Peeta and winning solo would be? It would not.

6. And finally, I cannot stress this enough: There is no peaceful end to the rebellion or the trilogy without Peeta. “Peeta’s a whiz with fires” (HG) for a reason! Collins, over and over, shows us how fire can get out of control and destroy even those who are innocent and who you love (Gale, Beete, Peeta’s family, Haymitch’s family). If everyone really burns, there’s no one to clean the ashes. The reason not everyone burns is because of people like Peeta who can coax the flames in a way that is nurturing and consistent. I mean…. “Peeta fashioned some kind of incubator” is such an obvious detail. Those goslings don’t hatch without Peeta, life does not go on in peace and joy without Peeta.

It is no coincidence that when Maysilee says Lenore Dove got the “jump on us all” (in being a rebel), she is referring to LD using orange paint to make protest art!

We must stop pushing Peeta Mellark out of the narrative! He is literally the sunset on the reaping!

[ktb0331]

haymitch says himself katniss is like him, but luckier.

katniss realized the berries were nightlock before peeta ate them.

[ktb0331]

And that, guys, gals and non-binary pals,

is what we call the “I’ve seen him naked” smirk.

Because that is certainly what was going through his head right there. They were supposed to be taking an exam and mans just fully pulled this out instead of doing the assignment.

[ktb0331]

Would (and willing to) risk it all for Crown Prince Wilhelm of Sweden

Like, look at him:

LOOK.

[ktb0331]

Wilhelm: Only an idiot would fall for someone like me

Simon: Hey, I'm not an idiot!

Wilhelm:

Simon:

Wilhelm, blushing: What?

Simon: *cover his face and dies of embarrassment*

[ktb0331]

august why are u giving "i killed eric" vibes

[ktb0331]

cinderella marries the prince

and it’s… fine. The prince is great! They’re in love, he’s very sweet and passionate, writing her poems and songs, giving her anything she wants. The time she spends with her husband is great.

but cinderella is not royalty, her family was noble but she never spent time in those circles. She’s used to being busy, she’s used to cooking and cleaning and mending. There are hours, days, where she has nothing to do.

time passes. cinderella learns the fancy lady type of needlework. Learns to ride horses. Reads a lot.

as is normal for royalty at the time, they travel and are hosted by nobles or stay at castles owned by the king. But even that variety begins to become routine. The prince is distracted, there’s a lot of young women living and working on their route. Daughters of nobles. Younger and prettier with soft hands that have never done a day’s work.

cinderella needs something to spend her time on, and there’s a part of her thinking a couple-only trip might get her husband’s attention again, so she suggests making an old castle that’s fallen into disrepair their “project.” It was built in the time when castles were made to be defensible, so it’s quite sturdy, but it’s overgrown and secluded. The prince doesn’t know why his family stopped living there either. A hundred years ago it was their summer home.

so they go. And they work. And for a while it’s great! But when they leave for winter cinderella’s husband forgets her once again. cinderella resolves to make the best of her life and stop worrying about a man who has gotten what he wanted from her.

summer comes again and this time cinderella goes alone to the old castle (minus staff, of course, but cinderella manages to narrow it down to only repair workers and one maid). She can cook and clean and mend again, but this time it’s her own choice. She is happy.

this summer they make more progress on repairs. The workers say that most of it can be salvaged, except one tower that’s been completely overgrown with vines and briars. It will have to come down, eventually, but for now it can be safely ignored.

cinderella has more free time now. The old castle has a surprisingly untouched library, though time and moisture have damaged many of the books. Behind a collection of greek poetry cinderella finds an old diary. Very old, in fact, at least a hundred years. It’s rude to read a diary, of course, but whoever wrote this is long dead, and cinderella is bored, so…

from the description of activities the author looks to have been nobility. Maybe even a princess. She’s sensitive and sweet and smarter than she seems to realize. If circumstances had been different cinderella wishes they could have been friends…

after the summer ends cinderella returns to her husband. He’s spending a lot of time with a young musician and cinderella can’t even work up the energy to care. She does some research about the castle and the family she’s married into, finds out the name of the princess who wrote the diary.

aurora. Cursed and forgotten. She died young, they say, in a plague that also took out the castle staff and her own parents. Luckily they avoided a succession crisis, but not so lucky for the dead.

time passes. cinderella goes to the old castle again and again, even out of season. Soon enough all that remains to be done is the old tower, and the builders say they should tear it down and fill the gaps before it gets cold.

one night cinderella is restless. The princess from the diary had been fond of that tower, and cinderella is far more attached to a dead woman than she ought to be. She gets out of bed, reads by candlelight, and finally goes to walk the empty halls.

she finds herself going to the tower. Pushing past the vines that don’t seem so troublesome really. They almost part before her. The stairs are perfectly intact, the door at the top is already cracked open. As if she should have done this years ago, cinderella steps into aurora’s bedroom.

she’s as beautiful as the stories say. And sitting under her hands, crossed across her stomach as it rises and falls, is a book of greek poetry.

years later, people will tell the story of cinderella as a cautionary one. Don’t seek above your station. Don’t marry for prestige. After all, a girl who grew up as a servant once married the crown prince, and disappeared after only three years. She ran away, they say, she couldn’t handle the lifestyle.

two old women who run a bookshop together agree with the lesson. Marrying for the wrong reasons never ends well. It’s best to wait for someone you have things in common with, shared interests.

or, failing that, the more linguistic of the two says, wait a decade or ten for someone to fall in love with you from your diary.

her partner laughs and hits her with the socks she is mending.

[ktb0331]

as always in this fandom, I always see the debate of whether people are being too hard on Wille/Simon. And it’s just that…two things can coexist? Like you have sympathy for the difficult position Wille was in throughout season 1, while ALSO understanding that led to Simon being treated badly at times, even if unintentionally. You can understand that Wille was dealing with a lot of pressure and pain, while also acknowledging he has privileges Simon does not. You can acknowledge that Wille and Simon are very good for each other in many ways, while also acknowledging that certain external forces led to their relationship having unhealthy dynamics at times.  It feels so reductive to only think Wille was always right, or Simon was always right- the beauty of this show is that all of the characters are nuanced.  We are supposed to criticize and sympathize with ALL of them- criticizing Simon for selling drugs, but understanding he went in a spiral from trying to help his family/fit in, criticizing Wille for being hot and cold With Simon at times, but understanding he had a lot on his shoulders.

Also, this debate kind of reduces Simon’s character for me- a huge part of his character IS that Simon is very loving and caring, and because of that he DID give Wille many chances. Like that is a fundamental characteristic of his, and saying that Wille never treated Simon badly(even unintentionally) takes away from that. We can acknowledge that Wille was struggling a lot, while also acknowledging that Simon was very understanding of those struggles when many people would not have been.

I mostly disagree with people saying that many people “don’t understand” Wille, or don’t give him enough slack, because as the protagonist, we are privvy to his perspective and I think a large majority of people do understand him and sympathize with him. That’s exactly the thing- we as the audience can sympathize with Wille + understand his actions, and still understand that some of his actions led to problems. Both of these characters were written to be lovable, complex, and flawed.

[ktb0331]

“People are allowed to dislike characters” WRONG no one is allowed to dislike Prince Wilhelm of Sweden

[ktb0331]

I don’t know if it’s meant to be read that way but I’ve always interpreted the fourth wall breaks as Wilhelm being aware that there’s always a metaphorical camera in the room (or car) with him – there are always eyes on him no matter where he goes, his privacy isn’t private, his life is available for other people’s consumption. So for me, the perfect ending of the very last season would be if there is no fourth wall break anymore, meaning that Wille can live his life free from the pressure of being watched. And that would also be why the series has to end – the camera isn’t there anymore, so we can’t continue watching him.

[ktb0331]

I don’t think that’s what will happen but I would really enjoy watching Wille try and clumsily romance the shit out of Simon in s2. Like out in the open, embarrassingly romantic gestures that are, for the most part, romantic just because Simon loves Wille. Both of them blushing and smiling and giggling like idiots. Doesn’t really fit with the whole sad, lonely, dark themes we are promised but a girl can dream. Like just some small amount of fluff sprinkled through the angst.

Wille can fight on the side, and then come to Simon with a bloody nose that he forgot about and a pretty bouquet of flowers he made himself from what he could find outside.

Or, he could pick fights with teachers and classmates in class, while gently stroking Simon’s knuckles on their shared desk.

Or, he compets against August to have the rowing captain position and completely destroys August, just to turn to Simon and dab some sweat away from his forehead so it doesn’t fall in his eye, because that’s what matters.

You know, just them being able to date, as they should have.

[ktb0331]

We all say we’re ready for season 2. Ready for the angst. Ready for the Revolution. Ready for Wille’s reputation era. But this is gonna be us the moment the Young Royals logo pops up on our screens:

[ktb0331]

Wilhelm: Okay, time to make a move and seduce him

Wilhelm: *puts pinkie on his his knee*

Wilhelm: *checks to see if he's done a good job*

Wilhelm: Perfect, he is seduced

[ktb0331]

I’m kind of wanting a “Bad Habits” arc for Simon in season 2. I want it to be hard for him to keep his distance from Wille. If it’s just Wille pining after Simon and Simon being totally fine with their separation, it’s going to make the relationship seem very one-sided.

I want the season to explore more of the conflicts between Simon and his family, with his relationship with Sara getting more tense as she continues to keep secrets from him. I want to see the fall-out of what happened with Micke. I want to see Simon lose control and let himself just feel things. Maybe it gets to the point where so much is going wrong that the only thing that makes sense to him is to seek Wille out, because in Wille’s mind Simon can do no wrong and Simon needs that kind of validation when everything else in his life continues to fall apart, because somehow despite everything Wille is the only thing that makes sense. I want Simon to struggle with falling back into Wille’s arms because he still loves him yet feels like he’s taking advantage of the fact that Wille would do anything for him.

I want these boys to get messy in season 2 and struggle to put themselves back together. Simon needs to make some mistakes too, because, again, if it’s just Wille continuing to be a basket case while Simon does everything right, the inequality in their relationship is going to remain intact.