liberalk1tsch

[liberalk1tsch]

Something about Haymitch associating Lenore Dove with the bunnies that kept him alive in the arena

Something about Katniss associating Peeta with the dandelions that kept her alive

Something about love and hope being the true reasons to stay alive

[liberalk1tsch]

Peeta: I'd like to wake up with you every day for the rest of our lives.

Katniss: I wake up at 5am every day to go hunting.

Peeta: I'd like to see you at some point every day for the rest of our lives.

[liberalk1tsch]

wip word game<3

rules: you get a word and share a sentence/excerpt from your wip(s) that starts with each letter of your word

tagged by the lovely and talented @unnamednarrator !!

my word: RUSH

my wip: cruel summer, chapter 9 (soon to be no-longer-wip)

R: Right now, I can’t be bothered to reinforce that boundary between us.

U: [Because] underneath everything, I still want to be cared for.

S: "She doesn’t need you because she didn’t have the choice."

H: "Hag? I’m hot!"

tagging: anyone who wants to! and @loungemermaid for funsies bc im always interested in what they're cooking up. your word is bird! 🪿

[liberalk1tsch]

real or not real 3 (2) (1)

[liberalk1tsch]

Whilst I am not a fan of the sotr castings and I'd probably even go as far as to say the difference in tbosas and sotr casting indicates change of politics. Joseph is apparently indigenous? Which I think can be quite interesting because to me the Covey and Katniss are so obviously indigenous, but also most people from the seam. But what about more "white-passing" seam kids like prim and maybe even now haymitch if we focus on the movies.

I know katniss is an unreliable narrator but prim I think is an interesting way to talk about how kids who are passing can be more accepted by a white society? Like how fond the merchant class seems of prim

first off, i’ve gotta say i’ve had multiple people tell me that joseph zada is indigenous, but i can’t find a single source of him or his family talking about them being aboriginal — i can only find it on his wikipedia and it’s like the only thing without a source. so. i’m not saying he’s not indigenous but i’d at least like some sort of confirmation first seeing as his wikipedia references are all retrieved after the fact he was cast and received backlash for being white (or at least white passing). please, if anyone has a credible article, i’d love for u to send it. really, genuinely. but i personally can’t find anything.

honestly it doesn’t seem like there’s really white passing kids in the seam in the books other than prim? katniss narrates that prim and her mother stick out like sore thumbs with their pale complexions and blonde hair/blue eyes and doesn’t mention anyone in the seam looking remotely similar. in fact, she specifically mentions that those traits are distinctly merchant-class. but that’s kinda part of the whole seam-town dynamic.

they don’t seem to crossover too much in their interactions with each other, they usually limit themselves to trading and buying, and that’s about it. that’s part of why the burdock/asterid story is compelling too, cos it crosses economic and racial social boundaries to the point where (contextually) it seems as if it’s caused asterid to be disowned for being with someone poc.

as far as prim goes, everyone seems far more accepting of her. like yeah she’s little and she’s sweet and outgoing. but also she looks like them.

[liberalk1tsch]

following her parents naming tradition, what do you theorize katniss might name her children??

ok so hear me out.

i love the idea of incorporating the covey colour tradition into burdock and asterid’s single-name botany theme by using names such as sage or lavender (yes, i’ll prob use these as fic names at some point lol).

but! obv it’s very up in the air if katniss knows ab the double-barrel covey colour names (if she doesn’t know, i like to think clerk carmine eventually teaches her about it), so here are some non-colour botanical names that i love too:

camilla

sorrel

linnea

briar

rowan

ivy

rosemary

basil

disclaimer: don’t get me wrong — i don’t judge anyone who defaults to willow and rye, that’s just not me.

[liberalk1tsch]

If your sibling/relative (with same gender as you) being reaped to the hunger games, would you volunteer like Katniss did to replace Primrose?

Yes/No? Why?

If yes, what kind of strategy would you use to win the hunger games?

Thank you.

@curiousnonny

i don’t have any close women relatives like that😅 but if my brother happened to be the same gender and he was reaped . . . i really don’t think i would volunteer. he’s a super jacked navy captain who’s always been really into working out, martial arts, etc., so tbh it’d be far more likely that he’d volunteer for me and end up in a sort of career-like situation. he’d have a proper chance at surviving i reckon, whereas i’d probably just step off my pedestal early. i’m a wyatt level snorer, i wouldn’t survive one night anyways.

[liberalk1tsch]

“thg series is not a romance” oh brother ohhhh brother BOOOOOO 👎 wrong!!!!! loud buzzer!!!!!!!

[liberalk1tsch]

Bitches always say Peeta throwing Katniss the burnt bread is medium key a toasting, making them symbolically married from age 11 (it’s me, I’m bitches). BUT CONSIDER THIS. In a toasting the bread is shared by the couple, each offers toast to the other. The moment with the burnt bread isn’t the entire ceremony, it’s just Peeta’s half, just the beginning. They are stuck inside that paused wedding for years, everyone holding their breath waiting for Katniss to give him something in return and complete it.

[liberalk1tsch]

I've heard people say Katniss and Peeta have a flirty dynamic, would you agree with this?

hell yeah they have a flirty dynamic. people tend to think of peeta as the romantic one and katniss as emotionally closed off, which is true to an extent, but that doesn’t mean she’s not actively participating in the flirtiness. in fact, she’s way too comfortable playing along for it to just be acting.

it starts early — "she has no idea the effect she can have," "here to finish me off, sweetheart?" um hello??? it’s textbook flirty banter, and she matches his energy right out the gate. sure, she tells herself it’s all an act, but this is a girl who can’t act for shit, and katniss — who supposedly has no clue how to do romance — actually ends up kissing him almost right after. and again. and again. and again. and admits to wanting more.

she doesn’t flirt with words the way peeta does, but physically? she’s always touching him. burying her face in his chest to hide from the world. seeking comfort in his kisses. holding hands. bedsharing. calling his arms her "shield" from the darkness. and when he pulls back emotionally (like after the announcement of the qq), she notices. she misses it. i don’t think she’s ever grumpier than when he refuses to give her the usual affection leading up to the qq. and the relief she feels when he literally opens his arms to her again? crazy business. not to mention she’s the one who initiates the super heated makeout session on the beach during the quell.

what people miss is that their dynamic is loaded with mutual teasing, comfort, and intimacy — but also tension. they flirt like two people who are crushing but haven’t admitted it yet (or at least katniss hasn’t). i just know the rest of the golden alliance was exhausted by the two of them😭

and then — after peeta’s captured — everything stops. that’s the turning point. the dynamic shifts hard. katniss imagines being in his arms again, how it made her feel safe, but there’s no more banter, no more kisses. hijacked peeta isn’t the same, and it devastates her. that contrast only drives home how meaningful that earlier playfulness really was. how the flirting wasn’t just an act — it was a genuine connection, one she starts to really miss once it’s gone.

[liberalk1tsch]

What if in the 74th hunger games Gale and Katniss were reaped, there was a fake rule change allowing 2 winners from the same district, and when the rule was revoked, Katniss shot Gale in the chest, how do you see Everlark playing out in this scenario?

if gale and katniss were reaped and she was the one to shoot him after the rule reversal, she’d be left in a bad way. no doubt. but in no world would it have ever stopped everlark.

in katniss’ own words: "this would’ve happened anyways"

it just would’ve taken a little longer. and it would’ve been different.

peeta wouldn’t have had the arena to help push his feelings into the open, and considering how deeply he respects katniss, especially post-trauma, he’d be even more cautious about making a move. he wouldn’t want to scare her, wouldn’t want to risk hurting her when she’s already hurting. so he’d hold back — at least at first.

even if he’s not the boy she spent the games with, he’s still the boy with the bread. the one who gave her hope when she was starving. the one who never asked for anything in return. and when everyone else treats her like she’s fragile or broken or something to tiptoe around, peeta would treat her like katniss. like she’s still here. still human. still worth something.

it’d start small. she’d sit with him when things are quiet. she’d ask him to stay. and eventually, that hunger would come.

because she’s never felt safe like this before. never let herself want something soft. but with peeta, she wouldn’t have to fight for that. he’s always been the dandelion in the spring — hope when everything else is dead. and eventually, she’d let herself reach for it.

so i fully believe even without the games, they’d get there. not under the scrutiny of the public eye, but in in quiet companionship and the slow, steady development of trust. because love like that doesn’t need a spotlight, it just needs time.

[liberalk1tsch]

"she distanced herself too much, compartmentalised too well when she had the space to do it." https://www.tumblr.com/liberalk1tsch/785920499743064064/re-peeta-is-right-in-front-of-her-there-was-some?source=share

Peeta was sent by Coin to kill her and Katniss could easily use her military work as a barrier to shield her from Peeta. Though there wasn't fertile grounds for reconnection in CF either with the forced proximity. How did the forced proximity deny Katniss the use of her compartmentalization even when she has the tools to do so?

in 13, even with peeta in the same compound, she has space. she has physical distance, separate quarters, limited exposure. she’s also got distractions in the form of her role as the mockingjay and trianing for the capitol, which she uses to focus on anything but him. she’s able to reduce him to a weapon against her, something cold and manageable, a problem to be assessed.

but once they’re in the field together, all that distance collapses. not just physically, but emotionally and mentally too. there’s no more room to keep him in a box. she has to eat next to him, sleep near him, witness his instability and obvious desire to return to his former self. she can’t avoid the fact that he’s trying, even if he’s not always successful. and more importantly, she has to feel again — she’s forced to reckon with how much she still loves him, how much he still understands her, even in his brokenness.

it’s also worth pointing out that peeta’s pain is visible now. he’s not just locked away in a room, and she can’t pretend it’s not real. her empathy kicks in. and with empathy, the compartment walls start cracking.

[liberalk1tsch]

Do you think Katniss would have won without the love story? Or to broaden it without Peeta if he wasn’t reaped?

this is such a fun what-if and honestly i think it’s really a toss-up. katniss is obviously skilled and clever enough to win the games, but the odds — as usual — were absolutely not in her favour, and peeta’s involvement tilted the scale. a world where he’s her fellow tribute but not in love with her is especially interesting, because i do think they still would’ve allied. if anything, they’d probably work together better without all the secrecy and weird tension early on. peeta wouldn’t feel like he had to keep things hidden to protect her from his feelings, and katniss wouldn’t be so paranoid about his intentions. she’d probably trust him more quickly.

but if they’re more openly allied, they’re automatically a bigger threat to the careers. and unlike katniss, peeta’s not a tree climber — he’s slower, heavier, and more visible — so they’d be vulnerable. they’d also lack the audience’s emotional investment in their “star crossed lovers” gimmick, which means less sponsor money, less help from haymitch, and most importantly: no burn ointment for katniss. if she doesn’t get that medicine, it’s entirely possible she ends up the one dying in a cave of sepsis instead of peeta.

if we’re talking no peeta at all — like he never gets reaped — it’s harder to say. katniss is incredibly pragmatic when it comes to survival, especially if it means getting back to prim (unless it involves someone she’s emotionally attached to). as long as her district partner isn’t gale, she’s unlikely to hesitate much if it comes down to killing them. but she really struggles to come off likable to sponsors on her own, so again, she’s got fewer resources. plus there’s no one to protect her from the careers, both in terms of redirecting them away from her and literally saving her life when she’s tripping on tracker jacker venom.

so yeah. could she have won? maybe. if it was merely skilled based? probably. would she have? without peeta — especially without the romance angle — it’s a lot more up in the air imo

[liberalk1tsch]

Do you think there is some symbolism with Peeta’s name in terms of his character and as a partner for Katniss?

absolutely. peeta’s name is def symbolic w peeta/pita. he’s the boy with the bread, literally. but also the boy who nourishes her in every possible way.

hunger is a core theme in katniss’s story. literal hunger, of course, she’s grown up starving, constantly fighting to survive. the bread peeta gives her as a child doesn’t just keep her alive, it becomes this pivotal moment of hope, of kindness, of being seen. and then that image — the boy with the bread — sticks with her forever. it’s not just about food anymore. he’s what it means to be full in a life that has felt empty for a long time.

but the hunger also becomes emotional. katniss is starved for gentleness, for stability, for someone to put her needs first without expecting anything in return. peeta does that — over and over and over again. he’s the only person who gives without asking. that’s a different kind of nourishment, but it’s just as vital.

and yeah, there’s also her hunger for him. her hunger for peeta isn’t just survival anymore — it’s desire, even if she can’t name it. and she only feels it for him. but the key is that it’s safe hunger.

and eventually, that hunger she feels? it’s not just about survival anymore. it’s about living. about wanting. about knowing there is someone out there who nourishes you in a way nothing else can. katniss doesn’t just crave safety — she craves him. her dandelion in the spring.

this is obv just the tip of the iceberg as hunger is such a big theme in this series, but just some of my thoughts on it☺️

[liberalk1tsch]

thank you @monchich for pointing out the quote from the ask is ab boots in cf!

the passage reads:

I go there now to switch my clothes. Exchange my father's old leather jacket for a fine wool coat that always seems too tight in the shoulders. Leave my soft, worn hunting boots for a pair of expensive machine-made shoes that my mother thinks are more appropriate for someone of my status.

this is very privileged white woman of her tbh and it’s actually super revealing — not just about how asterid views status, but how disconnected she still is from katniss’s identity and needs. katniss has just been through hell. she’s traumatised, barely sleeping, forced to keep up this whole romantic façade in the capitol’s spotlight — and her mother’s concern is whether her shoes look nice enough.

so when asterid makes that comment about katniss’s new status, it’s not malicious, but it is tone-deaf. it’s her slipping back into her own values and worldview, like now that their family has money again, they should look the part. it’s a moment that quietly highlights how katniss and her mother still don’t fully understand each other. katniss never wanted the victor’s life — she wanted survival, and she wanted to protect her family. the wealth, the image, the “status” isn’t something she values (especially not over the comfort and sentiment she has with her dads hunting jacket and her old, worn-in boots). but asterid does.

and it also subtly reinforces how katniss has always been treated like someone who has to perform a role. first as a caretaker, then a tribute, a lover, now a victor. people project things onto her constantly — even her own mother.

How do you interpret the scene in the first chapter of THG when Asterid gives Katniss her old dress? Specifically the part where she says it’s more worthy of someone of her station, or something like that. I can never make sense of that line.

i'm not quite sure the quote you're referring to — all i could find from that scene is asterid

the real scene goes like this:

“Are you sure?” I ask. I’m trying to get past rejecting offers of help from her. For a while, I was so angry, I wouldn’t allow her to do anything for me. And this is something special. Her clothes from her past are very precious to her. “Of course. Let’s put your hair up, too,” she says. I let her towel-dry it and braid it up on my head. I can hardly recognize myself in the cracked mirror that leans against the wall.

this feels a lot more emotionally grounded tho tbh. katniss is actively trying to let her mom help her. she literally says she’s trying to stop rejecting her mother’s care, which tells us how strained things still are. she’s not accepting the dress because everything is suddenly better — she’s choosing to take this small gesture as a tentative step toward healing.

asterid offers something meaningful to her and even helps with her hair, which is rare physical closeness for them. but it’s all very careful, almost stiff. it’s not the natural comfort you’d expect from a mother and daughter. it’s a moment that feels like two people trying to reach each other after a lot of pain, not quite sure if they’ll get there.

it's very humanising for katniss, i feel, and very indicative that she craves her mother's nurture, but just doesn't get it.

[liberalk1tsch]

Ooohh you're taking THG what-if asks? I have one, if you have time and haven't answered it yet; how would things go down if in the 3rd Quarter Quell it was Peeta who got reaped and Haymitch volunteered? So practically it falls on Peeta to mentor Haymitch and Katniss in the arena, and he escapes with the rebels as they save Katniss, but Haymitch is taken by the Capitol. Would the rebels have told him of the plan? How would "Katniss as the Mockingjay" go down if she was in District 13 with her family AND Peeta, but feeling guilty knowing that she had personally asked Haymitch to volunteer for Peeta's place, and now he was being tortured by the Capitol?

absolutely — and honestly, i think it would be worse for peeta in a lot of ways.

like, emotionally and psychologically? mentoring the love of his life and the closest thing they have to a father figure in this area of their lives, while knowing they’re going into an arena he can’t follow them into? yeah, that’s gonna mess him up. 

i do think the rebels would have told him something. maybe not the full scope of the rescue mission, but enough to get his cooperation with sponsor coordination and to keep him in line for the plan — like helping with the bread code, understanding who the real allies are, and maybe knowing there’s an extraction attempt coming if things go right.

and katniss in 13? she’d still be a wreck, but she wouldn’t be in pieces the way she is when peeta’s the one taken. not to be cheesy, but he he's her rock. his presence would make the idea of being the mockingjay feel less impossible, because he understands her. he grounds her. he’d be there to help her navigate coin’s manipulation and media obligations — which is honestly what he’s best at too.

but there’d still be this heavy weight of guilt. she’d have personally asked haymitch to take peeta’s place, and now he’s being tortured for it. that would sit with her in the quiet moments. it would be one of those things she can’t forgive herself for, especially knowing how much haymitch hates the capitol and how much he’d sacrificed already, not to mention the fact he actually knew rebel secrets. she might even feel like she robbed him of a peaceful out in the games or by the bottle, and instead doomed him to relive his trauma in the worst way.

[liberalk1tsch]

Both Katniss and Peeta had to deal with their mothers not totally acting like normal mothers would when their children are being reaped. Katniss's mom knows Katniss gave up on her but a normal mother would do something like say I love you or squeeze Katniss's hand before leaving when she thinks her daughter is going to die.

oh absolutely. it’s something they quietly have in common from the jump. both of them walk into one of the worst days of their lives already knowing their mothers won’t show up for them emotionally.

peeta’s mum says outright that district 12 might actually have a winner this time — and she doesn’t mean her own son. like imagine hearing that. there’s no comfort, no affection, just detachment and cruelty dressed up as practicality.

and then you’ve got asterid. she shows up for the goodbye, yeah — but not in the way katniss needs. she holds her daughters but doesn’t offer anything of herself emotionally. no “i love you,” no “i’m proud of you,” not even the kind of physical intimacy that might suggest she’s about to lose her child. katniss ends up managing the conversation entirely — giving prim survival tips, begging her mum not to shut down again, trying to hold them together even as she’s about to be marched off to her own televised death.

what really cuts deep is that katniss does say “i love you” at the end. and only then do they say it back. it’s like she has to take the emotional lead, even now. like she always has.

so yeah, neither of them gets the kind of parent a child should have in that moment. they’re both emotionally orphaned in a way. it’s not just about being reaped. it’s about realising, in that moment, that if this is it, your mother’s last words to you are still going to be something you had to pull out of her.