this is your daily reminder that it is a CANON EVENT that josh hutcherson inadvertently inspired jennifer lawrence to pursue an acting career when they were kids long before they ever met. this is some everlark level of soulmatism wtf wtf

Seems like I am not done talking about Haymitch.

Do you ever think about how he probably got a visit from Snow after he pulls his stunt with the forcefield?

I mean, this IS an act of defiance, a very big one at that. Finnick, Cashmere, Gloss and Johanna haven't had their Games yet. Snow maybe starts using people as prostitutes after he sees how badly losing his family breaks Haymitch, how it kills his spirit.

Imagine Haymitch coming home from the Games, stitched up, gasping for air, still feeling the ax digging into his stomach. And he's angry. Angry for Maysilee Donner, angry for his other two district members.

But he survived the hardest Games in history, despite being from the worst district. And the forcefield? He chuckles at the thought. Well, that was just the cherry on top. We, the audience, now know how smart he is. But he knew all along. He's made a fool out of the Capitol... and he is proud of it. Now there is only a lifetime of peace with his family and his girlfriend. And maybe, just maybe, also revenge.

He walks through his front door after two weeks of Victory Tour, traumatized but alive, and strong, and ready to embrace his little brother... And there sits Snow. Smiling.

Haymitch looks around. He doesn't smell his moms cooking, his brothers laughter isn't echoing in the halls. He can't find his family.

"Where are they?" Haymitch demands. He feels fear travel up his spine.

Snow gives him nothing but a cold, cold glare. "I hope you will think twice about fooling us in the future, mr. Abernathy. Enjoy your retirement"

He walks out. Haymitch doesn't know what to do. Then he runs upstairs.

Their bodies are already cold.

With no one around to help him, Snow counts on Haymitch's grief taking him out.

And it works. For over 2 decades, one of the smartest, most cunning people to have played the Games is nothing more than a bumbeling idiot, trying to drink himself to death. Snow makes sure the force field is a dome, that he has measures to take out tributes who play the game too cleverly.

Who could become a problem, like Haymitch.

He starts threatening beautiful victors to kill their families if they don't play whore for him, knowing that it'll be much better to have them close, where he can watch them, then back at their districts.

He threatens other winners too, but more subtely. If they can't be prostituted, they might somehow get addicted to morphling or alcohol. A child, brother or parent might go missing. He starts showing up at their houses, making sure that every Victor understand that Snow is all powerful. That there is nothing his hands cannot touch. Just so they are not alone and unthreatened.

Where they can plan, where they can brood. Haymitch might be drinking, but he's not dead yet. He hasn't killed himself like other Victors have. Somewhere deep inside him, the spark for revenge is still burning. So he bides his time, keeps himself alive, even if just barely.

Snow knows a lot about grudges, and he knows about the type of people who hold them. He cannot kill Haymitch, and he cannot blackmail him anymore either. He learns from that. So he keeps their families over the victor's heads.

Because otherwise he might get a Haymitch who isn't drinking himself to death. Otherwise he might be in serious trouble. Men like Haymitch, killers with a sharp mind, they might become a problem. Johanna almost becomes one, before he teaches her a lesson and robs her of her strenght. And Finnick Odair knows more secrets than his best spies.

Then the 74th Games happen. And Snow sees, much to his dismay, glimpses of the old Abernathy, of the brilliant mind, of the charming personality. He sees him walking around the Capitol. Making connections.

So of course, he tries to take the girl that looks so much like him out. Fireballs, secret gifts, rule changes; if he cannot kill Katniss, he will kill the image of her.

But then Katniss gives Rue her funeral. Haymitch sees Rue die in Katniss' arms and is transported back, for a moment, to 24 years ago, holding Maysilee. After he sees the berries and he knows she is much more like him than is good for her. He knows she is in danger now.

Snow thinks about how to kill two birds with one stone. He wants Katniss back in the arena. But maybe there is a way to finally kill Haymitch, too. If things work out.

Haymitch is angry beyond belief when he hears the announcement of the Third Quarter Quell. But he's not suprised. He knows Snow.

Almost all the men and women he knows are going back into the arena. He might go back. The chance that Katniss or Peeta comes back is extremely small.

When Peeta volunteers for him, he knows he can't do anything to stop it. The boy is far too noble for his own good. Haymitch admires that about him.

And that is the moment he starts planning. He knows how he needs to protect her, the girl that looks so much like him. And he's heard the rumours about 13. He might be an alcoholic, but he's still clever as the devil himself. He knows - fuck, he doesn't want to, but he's clocked it - that there are other victors that are angry like him. He starts building his alliance, just like all those years ago, in the Games. Only this time he isn't playing a simple game of kill or be killed. This time around it's much more dangerous.

This time, it isn't just his life he's playing with.

But he succeeds. Even though it costs him almost all his allies, he gets Katniss out. And for the rest of the war, he is right there beside her, advising, keeping her alive.

He knows he cannot keep her safe, so he lets her go into the Capitol, lead a team. Clipping a bird's wings is just as bad as killing her, and she is the revolution, even if she doesn't see it herself.

With Peeta's hijacking, she needs a goal, otherwise it might eat her alive like it's eating Haymitch, who curses himself for not being on time. He could have saved Chaff and Peeta if he got there earlier. If only, if only.

He promises himself two things: that if they make it, somehow, he'll take care of her for the rest of his life, and if she doesn't, he will finally do what he wanted to do ever since he found the bodies 25 years ago.

When she comes back they hug for a long time. Katniss tells her about Prim, about the bomb. She tells him about her talk with Snow, although she doesn't tell him what it was about. But he's figured it out already. How could he not? He's spent months studying Coin; he connects the dots almost as fast as Katniss herself. Coin used the bomb to break the resistance. And Gale designed the trap. So he tells her "to remember who the real enemy is" He trusts that Katniss gets it. She is so much like him, anyways.

And because he knows her so well, because the same dark thoughts Katniss has have been racing through his head ever since he looked into broken eyes of his brother's dead body, he replaces the nightshade in her uniform with simple black berries. And he posts Peeta right next to him, near Katniss. Just in case.

But he needs to do one more thing. The day before Snow's execution, Haymitch visits him. He sits down in front of the dictator of Panem and does not move. Snow doesn't notice him, at first. But after years of substance abuse Haymutch cannot get his hands to stop shaking. Snow notices the twitch from the corner of his eye and starts looking at his hands. He wonders if Haymitch can still feel the blood on them.

Then he looks up. Katniss doesn't terrify him, he knows her through and through. She's an arrow, fast and straight. He knows exactly what to expect.

But when he looks in the eyes of the victor of the Second Quarter Quell he shivers, despite the temperature. For the first time in a long while he feels fear.

Because if Katniss is an arrow, Haymitch is a knife. Concealed, sharp, o so deadly. And slow. Very, very, very slow.

An arrow needs to be fired, but knives can twist all by themselves.

Snow doesn't know how to describe the look in Haymitch's eyes, but it looks nothing like the boy he left broken on the steps of his home, 25 years ago. In his eyes is hurt that sits so deep it's become part of him. And rage. Haymitch, drunk Haymitch, cunning Haymitch, in control Haymitch, has to clench his fists and grit his teeth to not strangle Snow with his bare hands.

Snow is at a loss for words. Haymitch only leans forward and moves his finger slowly across his neck in a gesture that leaves nothing to the imagination. He doesn't say a word. There is no need. Snow knows exactly where he is: in that house in the Seam, 25 years ago.

Haymitch gets up.

For the first time in ages, he doesn't feel like drinking.

People keep saying Katniss is like the reincarnation of Sejanus, or even Lucy Gray, which I just don’t think is true. If there’s a character in the movie that reminded me of Katniss it was Reaper from District 11. Both had an advantage in the game from their trades (Katniss was a hunter and Reaper was a lumberjack, I think). Despite this, both chose to ally themselves with young girls (Rue and Dill respectively) over the older, stronger tributes. And they both have to watch this girl die. I saw way more of Katniss in Reaper tearing down the Panem flag to cover his fellow tributes after finding Dill dead than in Sejanus sprinkling breadcrumbs over Marcus.

What this movie made me sure of is that there must have been so many tributes like Reaper and Katniss. While we see some tributes driven to do awful things to survive, we also see so much love and mercy – in Reaper immediately telling Dill to stick with him in the arena, in that little girl taking Lucy’s hand, in Lamina mercy killing Marcus’ and cutting his body down.

I also don’t think Snow felt especially haunted by Lucy Gray in Peeta. While I think the two are a lot more alike than Sejanus and Katniss, Snow has seen dozens of games since the 10th. While Lucy was the first of her kind, I’m sure there have been so many tributes like Lucy, who try to use charm and personality to win over the audience as opposed to relying on physical strength. The games were literally reshaped to give tributes like her a better chance. We hear over and over during the first book how likability is the key to surviving in the arena.

Ultimately, neither Katniss nor Peeta are unique as tributes. Peeta isn’t even unique as a victor – while he was an underdog, I’m sure there have been at least a couple other victors like Peeta and Lucy Gray who managed to get by. I do not, however, think there had ever been a victor like Katniss. That’s what’s different between her and Reaper, and why Katniss successfully inspired a revolution while Reaper, who rebelled against the games in almost the same way, did not. Reaper died as an act of defiance against the Capitol, while Katniss lived. They both ultimately refused to play the game, but Katniss proved that resisting the Capitol was not a death wish. And that is what scares Snow. That's why he needs her to frame it as an act of love for Peeta. Not because she reminds him of a dead revolutionary, or even of a dead friend (although idk if I would even call them friends tbh).

(I feel I have to add, the capitol was clearly threatened by what Reaper did, or Gaul wouldn’t have interrupted him with that announcement. Also, we don’t see how 11 reacts to Dill’s death like we do with Rue, it could have also resulted in riots. But Reaper died where Katniss did not. There’s that line Snow had in the first movie about needing to control how much hope they give the districts, and clearly Katniss surviving pushed them across the threshold)

But Katniss and Reaper were not rebels or revolutionaries going into the arena. Yes, they hated the Capitol, but what tribute wouldn’t? Their priority was survival and helping Rue and Dill survive. It was the deaths of their friends that sparked their rebellion. Sejanus, on the other hand, had little to no concern for survival. He was consumed with his hate for the games and the Capitol (he was choking on it).

If I had to make a parallel between Sejanus and someone in the original trilogy, it would be Cinna. They both live in the Capitol, on a path of upward social trajectory, and despite that neither of them are willing to live with what the Capitol is doing, and it kills them. Snow even causes both their deaths.  

I also had to consider that Katniss reminded Snow of himself. Both of them start out their respective books with very little consideration with the big picture. Their focus is on improving the lives of themselves and their families. I think that is how Snow knows where to put the pressure to keep Katniss in line. (Coin does not understand this, and it’s why she struggles manipulating Katniss into doing what she wants). But unlike Snow, Katniss doesn’t feel ownership over her loved ones, and her idea of ‘doing anything for them’ means sacrificing herself, not the lives of others.

I don’t think Snow was haunted. I think that requires feeling guilt or regret. After Lucy Gray ran away, Snow got married. And had children. And grandchildren. He hosted more games and killed more district kids. He might have cried after what he did to Sejanus, but he then immediately took the money that would have been Sejanus’ and used to do things that would have had him doing barrel rolls in his grave.

Snow at the end of the Hunger Games trilogy does not strike me as a man who is haunted by his choices. Like he told Lucy Gray, he came to believe humanity is innately evil. When you think that, you can do as many horrible things as you want to, because there will never be an innocent victim. You’re just doing to other people what they would do to you - if they were as smart and cunning and powerful as you are.

Rereading The Hunger Games trilogy due to the whole THG Renaissance going on over on Tiktok and I'm a quarter of the way through Mockingjay and my god, Katniss does not give herself enough credit!

And not in the usual YA "oh I'm so plain and average" protagonist way, either. For Katniss, it's that she's completely convinced she's a terrible, ruthless person who uses people and thinks of them like they're game pieces and doesn't feel for other people the way she should.

But she's lived her entire life in deprivation and constant danger, nearly starving to death before she was thirteen years old and then being forced to risk her life daily to be the primary provider for her family afterward. Not to mention the yearly horror of the reapings and the games, always knowing the children dying could be her. Or her sister.

And then her worst nightmare comes true, and she's thrust into a fight to the death where she's forced to playact being in love to survive.

And yet, throughout all this, the thing that most consistently drives Katniss's actions is compassion.

Volunteering for Prim obviously, but also the way she acts towards Rue. Partnering with her, sharing food with her, singing her to rest and burying her in flowers. Then there's the way she worries throughout the series over how her every decision will affect others: her family and friends, but also people she's never even met. Her entire friendship with Finnick in District 13.

Her bonding with the Morphlings over fingerpainting. Her guilt and sorrow over her failure to help the redheaded Avox girl, despite the fact that Katniss was herself a child in a dangerous position and could have died in the attempt. The way she later helps Bonnie and Twill, giving them her bread and showing them how to forage. Her going to bat for the other tributes when District 13 wanted them executed.

Her horror and disgust at the weapons Gale and Beatty were building, weapons that preyed on human terror and compassion to maximize casualties.

Even killing Cato, who she hated and feared, wasn't about vengeance or even survival in the end. It was an act of pure mercy.

Throughout the whole series, Katniss inner-monologues about how awful she is, often comparing herself unfavorably to Peeta and Prim, who she sees as deeply good and kind in a way she isn't. But if Katniss was truly as ruthless and unfeeling as she thinks she is, the Capitol would have actually had far less power to hurt her. It was her compassion that Snow attacked, every time. Her worry for and love of her family, her district, her friends, Peeta...even her fellow tributes. Even people she'd never met. It was her greatest strength and her biggest weakness.

A lot of times Everlark fans look at Katniss's reaction after Gale was whipped and kind of just say "oh well Katniss didn't know what she was feeling then and oh look, she wants Peeta to hold her, let's skip ahead to that!" And first, this is just a great chapter for Katniss when it comes to her seeing the larger picture of the necessity of a rebellion for all people, not just her survival. But I've been thinking about how Everlark isn't gone in this scene entirely either, specifically this passage:

For the first time, I reverse our positions in my head. I imagine watching Gale volunteering to save Rory in the reaping, having him torn from my life, becoming some strange girl's lover to stay alive, and then coming home to her. Living next to her. Promising to marry her. The hatred I feel for him, for the phantom girl, for everything, is so real and immediate that it chokes me. Gale is mine. I am his. Anything else is unthinkable.

Now I think this passage in particular helps to have another one to add into this conversation from the first chapter of THG:

Besides, if he wants kids, Gale won’t have any trouble finding a wife. He’s good-looking, he’s strong enough to handle the work in the mines, and he can hunt. You can tell by the way the girls whisper about him when he walks by in school that they want him. It makes me jealous but not for the reason people would think. Good hunting partners are hard to find.

Katniss admits she's already jealous of the idea of Gale getting a wife, but more because it would change their dynamic and the ability she would have to rely on him. Wife would get priority over her and she'll lose her hunting partner entirely, as implied by the fact that "good hunting partners are hard to find" or, I'd have to find a new one and I like the one that I have now. This is what she admits her jealousy stems from, of a loss of someone to depend upon for her and her family's survival.

Of course, Katniss develops bonds with people even when she doesn't mean to, and Gale has been with her for years. But where I see this particular passage in CF as really supporting Everlark is that she is switching their positions. If Peeta were really just "some strange" boy to her, would she have a reason to feel jealous of Gale's "phantom girl" equivalent? If she were so impartial to Peeta and their friendship/romance, Katniss wouldn't feel such an influx of jealousy when writing this AU in her head. Because you can marry someone and have it mean nothing, can be cold and distant and selfish in that relationship and prioritize other people over your spouse. But in this instance when Katniss switches things around, she is the one losing a hunting partner, losing support, losing priority to her friend. Because that's what's happening to Gale as she's gotten closer with Peeta, and not just because of some act that Capitol is putting on. Because her priority is shifting to Peeta, if slowly and without her being entirely aware of it.

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.

6 Tips for Writing an Underdog Character

People love reading about an underdog. There’s something within all of us that relates to persevering against the odds, even when they’re crushing. Anything becomes possible—but how do you write that kind of character successfully?

Here are a few tips to get you started.

1. Create Their Disempowerment

Underdogs need to lose something or have one thing less than those they fight against. It might be something they hope to gain back or something they hope to gain at all.

Let’s use The Hunger Games as an example for this post. Katniss comes from District 12, but she’s already at a disadvantage when she volunteers as tribute. Restrictions on her district kept her from food security for most of her life. Without a lifetime of basic nutrition, her body is already at a disadvantage in the physically-demanding games.

District 12 is also one of the less appreciated districts in her country. She doesn’t think anyone will care about sponsoring her in the games, which makes survival much less likely.

But we still root for her! She volunteered to save her sister, which is heroic. There’s so much potential for more heroic growth that we keep turning the page, even though she’s not the most likely person to survive.

2. Make Your Protagonist Likable

Getting excited to see a character grow might be something you feel as a creative writer, but the average reader also needs an underdog protagonist to be likable in some way. Katniss will do anything for her family, including hunting where and when she isn’t supposed to. Many people would feel the need to do the same for their families.

She also feels deep compassion for people, which she covers up with her gruff demeanor. We’ve all felt like we got hurt because our hearts opened too wide for someone. We can relate to her building defenses into her personality, which might make her likable to more readers.

Katniss also has the core value of loyalty. People always seek loyalty in new connections. It’s how we trust new friends. It’s also how readers trust characters.

This site has a few more tips on crafting likable characters. Part of that happens while you’re creating the characters during your planning process, but you can also do it while you’re writing. As your underdog becomes more of a real person in your mind, you’ll know which primary character traits make them most likable to readers.

3. Plan Their Rock-Bottom Moment

Underdogs always reach a point where they feel they’re at their lowest. Even when they feel crushed or defeated, they choose to find strength and continue with their journey. It makes readers support them even more, but it’s also the defining moment of an underdog’s arc.

Your underdog’s rock-bottom moment will be the scene where they resist the temptation to give up, change their dream, or change who they are. It will be the choice that keeps them moving toward their end goal, instead of taking the easy road.

You could argue Katniss has a few rock-bottom moments. It might be when she hears her sister’s name called at the Reaping. It could be when Rue dies and she chooses to spearhead a revolution.

There could be multiple moments for your underdog too. It depends on the shape of your narrative arc and how many acts your story has.

4. Show Them Trying and Failing

It’s time for an important caveat—underdogs also fail. If they were perfect, they’d be god-like figures that readers couldn’t personally identify with.

Maybe your underdog achieves their ultimate goal, but they experience failure along the way. Their failure helps them grow or makes them pursue their goal with more conviction and determination.

Katniss begins her journey with a mindset of self-preservation. That makes her slightly selfish and automatically distrustful of people. She makes some choices readers would probably disagree with, but then she learns from them. By the end of the series, she’s as selfless as a human can get. 

Characters don’t grow if they don’t make mistakes. Even underdogs should fail. However, that failure shouldn’t make them quit. It should either motivate them to keep going or give them a new perspective on how they can achieve their ultimate goal.

5. Train Them Along the Way

Underdogs start out as unlikely heroes because they don’t start with everything they need to succeed. That might be a societal problem, like coming from an economically disadvantaged family or a biased society. Maybe they don’t have the skills they need, like the ability to fight in hand-to-hand combat, outsmart their antagonist, or solve mysteries.

Usually, characters learn these things during their arcs. Your underdog will likely pick up what they need to succeed through the relationships they make and experiences they have. 

Katniss already knows how to hunt when she volunteers for the games, but Haymitch mentors her to win over much-needed sponsors to survive. Peeta teaches her how to soften her heart and think outside the box. She wouldn’t have made it through the series without the people in her life. Other underdog characters can’t either.

6. Reward Them at the End

Underdogs work hard and transform themselves to achieve their goals. At the end of the story, they often gain a tangible reward, power, knowledge, a new title or a new community. Your underdog should get what they set out to achieve, plus a few extra things they didn’t expect.

Katniss wins the Hunger Games. She gets her primary objective: to continue living. She also protects her sister. In addition to surviving, she has her (albeit rocky) relationship with Peeta, a new mentor in Haymitch, a comfortable living in the Victor’s Village, and an audience of fans who are another layer of protection against President Snow’s desire to kill her.

The extra rewards propel her through the remainder of her storyline. They also set her up for more success with the new lifepath she sees for herself: aiding the revolution to end the games for good.

A new goal is sometimes a reward in itself. It depends on if you want to continue writing about your character or if you want a one-off story.

-----

I hope this helps gives you a new perspective on future protagonists! Adding one of these factors into your character’s growth could remove your writer’s block too. They set up a path forward for your protagonist and help shape their journey.

You can also use these resources to learn more about the underdog archetype:

Character Archetypes: The Disruptor and the Underdog

Writing the Underdog: Effort Matters Most

7 Tips to Writing Underdog Heroes

The way Katniss is all about self-preservation but still never stops caring about and trying to help the people around her. The way Snow is all about self-preservation and gets people fucking killed for the sake of his reputation, not even survival. The way the Capitol acts like family and legacy is everything but is ultimately individualist and how weakness is extremely frowned upon. The way everyone in the districts is just trying not to die every day and as a result shares resources when they can afford to and really cherish eachother because they know they can die at any moment.

The commentary is so on the nose it hurts sometimes but idc how blatant it is, I love it.

Haymitch and Effie’s interaction’s whilst Katniss and Peeta are in the games would be so good to read. 

Like Effie not knowing how to go about the newly sober Haymitch actually trying to keep the tributes alive during the 74th Hunger Games and actually having an opportunity to talk up her tributes to sponsors for the first time. We already know that she was attempting to before the start of the games by her scientifically incorrect statement about pearls but she’d try so much harder knowing that they have a chance. She’d provide the emotional element that many in the capitol would need that Haymitch wouldn’t be able to provide.

Effie would make a point to talk about getting Katniss back to her sister, try playing the card of think about the poor 12 year old sister she’s trying so hard to protect. Claim that she’s extra motivated, just look at that training score, to get back home to her family. Effie creates the emotional side to Katniss that would move people into trying to get her home. She’d also use Peeta’s claim of love for Katniss to increase this desire to get Katniss. Especially when people are under the impression that he has turned his back on her for the sake of his life. 

Haymitch would be the perfect counter to this, aiming to win the support of the more logical sponsors who go by strength over emotion. He’d talk about the skills that she’d used to protect herself in vulnerable moments and the ability to hunt. From past games, sponsors know that underdogs who have basic survival skills are worth betting on to get them to the end. This only getting better when her shooting skills are displayed after killing Glimmer. 

Together they are a force to be reckoned with. Despite still bickering behind the scenes about Effie making them look too sensitive to win. Haymitch would try to point out the right people for her to talk up but she’d ignore him, too invested in her own joy about having a successful district. Effie would also be constantly telling him off for not giving them help when he should have, especially Peeta. Haymitch knows better than to trust Effie with his strategy of getting Katniss to act correctly. She would spill the plan to sponsors, ruining the illusion of love.

Overall, they’d be a good team that just bickers constantly behind the scenes.

Screaming, crying, throwing up .

Just had to read the words "Katniss Everdeen was toxic af" from a 26 year old woman.

No she's not fucking "toxic", she's a teenager from a mfing dystopia, from the slums of the slums of the slums, who was thrown into a DEATH MATCH at 16 so her little sister wouldn't be, who had to watch one of the only people she trusted be killed, won the FUCKING DEATH MATCH with a boy she didn't know and tolerated because they used each other to survive.

And then was thrown into said DEATH MATCH AGAIN with the same boy who is he tentative friend who she might have to kill because she wants to go home to her mother and sister and oh by the way it's a DEATH MATCH ANNIVERSARY

AND THEN SHE NEARLY DIES

HER FRIENDS ARE LEFT BEHIND IN THE DEATH MATCH

She's thrown into a martyr role because all the adults in her life see her as a CHESS PIECE because she is not emotionally or intellectually ready to be a leader but is FORCED TO BY EVERYONE AROUND HER IN THIS SECRET SUBSECT OF SOCIETY WHO HAVE THE FUCKING CAPABILITY TO BE HELPING BUT HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT LIVE SEPERATE TO PREPARE FOR WAR AGAINST THE OTHER CENTRAL FACTION-

AND THEN SHE GETS HER FRIENDS BACK AND HER BEST FRIEND TRIES TO MURDER HER BECAUSE HE'S BEEN BRAINWASHRD. SHE IS AT MOST 18 BUT PROBABLY CLOSER TO 17 WHEN THIS HAPPENS. SHE IS CONTINUED TO BE MADE A MARTYR AND THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO DO NOT SEE HER AS SUCH ARE HER SISTER, AND THE PEOPLE ALSO MADE INTO MAYTRS!

THEN SHES ONCE MORE THROWN TO THE DOGS BECAUSE SHES USED AS A SYMBOL AND THROWN INTO A WAR SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO FIGHT.

BUT SHE DOES. SHE DOES FIGHT IT, AND KILLS PEOPLE, BUT SHE DOESNT WANT TO KILL PEOPLE THATS THE ENTIRE MESSAGE THE LAST 2 BOOKS!

THEN EVERYTHING GETS WORSE AND SHE SEES THE REANIMATED CORPSES OF PAST CONTESTANTS AND DEAD FRIENDS TURNED INTO MONSTERS THAT TRIED TO KILL HER IN THE FIRST BOOK, THEN SHE IS FORCED TO HELP OVER THROW THE GOVERNMENT BUILDING.

SHE THEN WATCHES HER SISTER DIE BEFORE HER EYES AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE ACTIONS OF HER OLDEST FRIEND WHO SHE TOLD WAS ACTING AGAINST HIS PRINCIPLES

AND THEN HAS TO BE TREATED LIKE AN INVALID BY THE PEOPLE WHO EXPECTED HER TO BE A GOOD LITTLE PUPPET AND COMES TO THE CONCLUSION THAT SHE HAS PARTICIPATED IN THE KILLING OF INNOCENTS IN THE NAME OF ONE DICTATOR WHO INTENDS TO REPLACE THE CURRENT ONE.

SHE IS 18 AT MOST WHEN SHE IS TOLD TO EXECUTE THE PREVIOUS DICTATOR ON LIVE TELEVISION, A MOCKERY MADE OF HER RESOVE TO SURVIVE THE HUNGER GAMES ON LIVE TV, AND THEN SHE MUST MAKE THE CHOICE TO KILL THE BEAST SHE KNOWS OR PREVENT THE ONE SHE KNOWS WILL COME. AND KILLS THE DICTATOR THAT WOULD TAKE THE CURRENT ONES PLACE.

ISOLATING HER FROM ANY HELP AND SANCTUARY. AND SHE MUST LIVE THE REST OF HER LIFE WITH ALL THAT TRAUMA ON TOP OF BEING THE SOLE CARE PROVIDER FOR A FAMILY OF 3 IN A TRAUMATIC POVERTY STRICKEN STATE WHERE CHILDREN ARE PICKED EACH YESR TO FIGHT TO THE DEATH FOR ENTERTAINMENT BEFORE THE EVENTS OF THE FIRST 3 BOOKS.

BUT YES TELL ME HOW SHE'S "TOXIC AF" AND NOT A TRAUMATISED CHILD WHO WAS COLD AND ANGRY AND SCARED-

I can't stand how people act like Gale hasn't suffered by the end of Mockingjay, like his story isn't a tragedy. Gale is indirectly responsible for *Prim's death* and it's *completely against his will* and *he loved Prim*.

Gale was manipulated and used by a "revolutionary" that was really just a fascist dictator in disguise. Coin took advantage of his desire to create a better world for his loved ones and perverted it to reach her own ends. He was a child too, which is why Coin's manipulation was so successful. Suzanne Collins is not kidding here. Gale is literally a stand-in for all the young men who want to fight for a better life for their families, and get taken in by military propaganda only to have their lives destroyed. This is sickeningly common. This is so so so real life.

Gale spends the entire trilogy doing everything he can to not just help this little girl survive, but help her thrive. He loves Prim! He loves Prim like she is his own family. He literally saves her life over and over again. During the bombing of D13, he literally risks death to make sure Prim survives, because he would rather die than live in a world without her. That's Gale! That's the character!

When she dies--even though he has no knowledge of or part in actually planning her death (and her death was planned), and he had no idea that the bomb he designed was ever even okayed for use, and Coin is directly responsible for manipulating him into designing that bomb to begin with (he did not volunteer for this task)--he immediately blames himself. And it's not because it's actually his fault. It's because it was his job to protect her! That's his family! That's his Prim! And then on top of that, he loses Katniss too, because he will always remind her of Prim's death because that was the bomb he designed. That's it. That's all it is. And that's enough. That's tragedy!

Gale suffered. Gale did not come out anything resembling unscathed. I can't stand how people pretend he did.

What would have happened if

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

2. Gale and Katniss compete.

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

The Questions :

A.What strategy would Haymitch made for District 12?

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

C.Who would be the winner in the end?

Thank you so much :)

@curiousnonny

So my theories here are what I see as most likely to happen. I read a few fics and I am sure there are others I haven't read that put forth different outcomes from what I've predicted below. This is not meant to knock those fics at all. I am all for flexing creative juices. I'm just answering this as what I personally see as most likely to happen. Putting this below a cut because it ran long. Thanks for the ask @curiousnonny!

So I'm going to take a potentially unorthodox approach to this ask and compare Prim's chances if she'd gone into the Games against how Rue and Peeta survive in the Games rather than comparing Prim's skill set to Katniss's. Rue is the only 12 year old we get to see first hand in the Games, and given your hypothetical scenario, Prim would've been 12 as well. Rue had three advantages that Prim does not. -- Rue is already used to finding food, whereas Prim is not. Katniss tells us that Prim rarely if ever goes into the woods with her, so while Prim will have some knowledge of gathering food from wild sources, that skill would not be as developed as Rue's was. This means Prim would have to rely more on either sponsor gifts or align herself with the Careers like Peeta had to do because he too lacks the food finding skills. I find it highly unlikely that Prim as we know her would be able to convince the Careers let her join which means she's dependent on sponsors. -- Rue is definitely smart, but it's also clear from the approaches that both Rue and Thresh take that they have mentors who are more able to act in the capacity of mentors than Haymitch is. Now, that's not to say that 11's mentors are not traumatized, or that they won't have substance abuse issues like Haymitch. But we learn in Catching Fire that all the other districts had more than one living victor available to serve as mentor, whereas Haymitch has been doing this alone for 24 years... and that's a lot for anyone to deal with. My point is that because they have other fellow victors to rely on and lean on, 11's mentors obviously have their shit more together and clearly cultivate viable strategies for both their tributes in the 74th Games. Without the scene of Katniss and Peeta working together to push back against Haymitch's apathy, I'm not sure he would've gotten his act together enough to truly help Prim and Peeta. And Prim is more likely to rush to Peeta's side after Haymitch punches him than she is to stab a knife in the table...just saying. -- Rue has a reason back home to keep fighting. Whereas Prim is the youngest in her family, Rue is the oldest. In this way, Rue aligns more closely with Katniss in terms of motivation. She's not just trying to survive for herself, but also for her family back home who relies on her. Of course, there's the argument that Peeta has a crush on Katniss and would do whatever it takes to bring her beloved sister back home. However, part of Peeta's motivation and reasoning for crafting his strategy to support Katniss winning is the fact that, on her own, Katniss's odds of winning are actually pretty good. She's a good bet in terms of bringing a new victor home to 12 and helping his district (i.e. all of his friends and family). And while I have no doubt that Peeta recognizes how much everyone in 12 likes Prim, that doesn't make her odds of surviving at the age of 12 all that much better. 12 is poor, from top to bottom, and they'd have to scrimp and save to collect enough to meaningfully sponsor their tributes. Which means... 12's tributes are HIGHLY dependent on Capitol sponsors. Thus... Unpopular opinion: I'm not convinced that Peeta would have worked as hard to get Prim a win as he did for Katniss. Because if he did try to spin a similar line as he does in canon, i.e. "I can't win because I came here with her sister," that's sweet, but it's not nearly as compelling or riveting to a Capitol audience as "Because she came here with me." The drama of K & P being there together is much more likely to garner Capitol interest and get them to open their wallets. Basically, I think that Peeta would've been more focused on his own survival in a Prim & Peeta in the Games scenario, and Haymitch might not have been as on board with serving as the best mentor he possibly could, which significantly lessens the chances of either of them winning.

With Gale and Katniss in the arena together, I think the outcome would depend A LOT on how they wound up in the arena. -- If Katniss is there because she volunteered for Prim and Gale volunteers because he decides to be there to protect his lady love or some such nonsense, it'd be ugly. Katniss would be furious at him for not staying behind to care for her family and his like they promised each other. That breach would taint every single moment they spend in the arena, and while I think the Capitol would find it entertaining, I'm not sure it'd gain them much in the way of support. --Any other scenario... well I think they'd definitely both make it to the end, given their skill sets, and then they'd have to figure out who is going home and who is dying. The thing is, during their canon farewells, Gale -- who is openly disdainful of the Games -- immediately starts coaching Katniss on how she can survive, including dehumanizing the other tributes so that it becomes easier for her to kill them. In comparison, Peeta on the roof talks about trying to find ways to play the Games while subverting them. Maybe that's not exactly what he meant to do, but just the desire to "not be a piece in their Games" implies a subversion of Games, it's a blatant attempt to figure out how the rules can be bent or broken from within the system. With Haymitch as a sole mentor and no Peeta with her in the Capitol to have her thinking about subverting the Games even before she enters the arena, I don't think she'd come up with the double suicide idea. I think that Katniss and Gale would make it the the final eight AT LEAST, but ultimately, at least one of them or both of them is going to die.

Katniss and Peeta's brother competing is honestly the least interesting version of this scenario for me to contemplate. Mainly because we don't know enough about Peeta's brothers to extrapolate. But given that he didn't volunteer for Peeta in canon, and Peeta's only got a crush on Katniss but has never really talked to her, I don't see Peeta's brother as acting noble and trying to help Katniss win. There's just not a good enough reason for him to want to die so that she could live. I don't think he'd want to kill her, but I do think that if it did come down to the two of them, he would probably try in the name of his own survival. But like I said before, Katniss is fully capable of making it to the end and winning on her own. Without Peeta to help her court the favor of the Capitol, I do think her chances are reduced, but she could still wind up a victor. Since Peeta's brother doesn't have the kinds of survival skills she does, but his chances aren't zero just like Peeta's aren't, I could see him managing to get himself in with the Careers, but eventually... that alliance is gonna break and he's gonna lose his food source. -- If Peeta's brother had volunteered for him... I'm sorry I just can't see it happening. I know, I know, I've already said we don't really know anything about him in canon so he could be the type to volunteer... except he didn't. It's just really hard for me to buy into a motivation strong enough for Peeta's brother to volunteer for him, given what we do know about his brothers and the attitude towards the Games in 12. A big reason why Katniss volunteered for Prim is because she truly believed Prim had ZERO chance of winning. And Peeta's chances, despite what his mother says, are not ZERO. They're not stellar, but they're also no abysmal. So for this one, either Katniss as a solo victor or neither of them.

<3 kdnfb

i need to talk about this particular conversation between haymitch and katniss set within the mockingjay after peeta's hijacking because it's been stuck in my head ever since i reread it.

“what are you trying to do? provoke him into an attack?” he asks me. “of course not. i just want him to leave me alone,” i say. “well, he can’t. not after what the capitol put him through,” says haymitch. “look, coin may have sent him there hoping he’d kill you, but peeta doesn’t know that. he doesn’t understand what’s happened to him. so you can’t blame him—” “i don’t!” i say. “you do! you’re punishing him over and over for things that are out of his control. now, i’m not saying you shouldn’t have a fully loaded weapon next to you round the clock. but i think it’s time you flipped this little scenario around in your head. if you’d been taken by the capitol, and hijacked, and then tried to kill peeta, is this the way he would be treating you?” demands haymitch. i fall silent. it isn’t. it isn’t how he would be treating me at all. he would be trying to get me back at any cost. not shutting me out, abandoning me, greeting me with hostility at every turn. “you and me, we made a deal to try and save him. remember?” haymitch says. when i don’t respond, he disconnects after a curt “try and remember.”

firstly, i want to start by saying that this is in no way an anti-katniss post, because i do not blame her for distancing herself from peeta in this way. she was traumatized herself and had zero healthy emotional regulation going on. katniss has never had the opportunity to sit with her emotions and process them, always needing to focus on surviving and moving forward. truly stopping and facing peeta's issues with him would have been almost debilitating for her. i cannot blame her for being stuck in survival mode. it doesn't make her a bad person. it doesn't mean she loves peeta any less.

but, i do wanna talk about how it's true that if the roles were reversed, peeta wouldn't act the same way. haymitch knows this. katniss knows this. hell, even hijacked peeta knows it. he doesn't make a comment to katniss about how she isn't a very nice person for nothing. for peeta, that kind of selfless kindness has always been natural. especially in regards to katniss. in the first games, he uses his interview to make katniss look desirable. in the arena, he joins the career pack to lead them away from her. he's willing to let her shoot him so she can go home to district twelve and her family. in the quarter quell, he makes a deal with haymitch to save her. he ask effie for a golden medallion with pictures of the people katniss loves to help him convince her she has to live.

not once, in any of those moments, did he think of himself. of his own survival. does that mean he has a death wish? no, i don't think so. i think peeta sees an inherent goodness in the world that most people miss. he sees a lot of beauty. he just also sees a lot of that goodness and beauty in katniss and he thinks that without her, the world would be a lot less worthwhile for quite a lot of people, least of all himself.

Omg ur recent post abt Conway — so true. IT HURTS. Although finnick and conway starting to beef as soon as they met was kinda funny, it’s also really sad :(

To come to the realization that the girl you’ve been pining for your whole life won’t feel the same way about you (and has been manipulating you as a means to survive) DURING THE GAMES is insane.

But also, I cant stop thinking abt that brief moment between when the reader was reaped and when conway was reaped. I couldn’t imagine how he felt after she was called :/ before that, he probably thought he had the chance to finally be with her, only to see her to get reaped and potentially die, while also being mentored by her ex :( and before he could even process that HE GETS REAPED?? this is the type of tragedy you can only find in Shakespeare fr

ik i keep acting shocked, but it’s so valid for katniss to be thinking like this right now. her only focus is survival and she understands that one of the keys to survive the game is to perform for the capitol. Idk what do u think abt that?🫣

-🦅

yes I love psychoanalyzing my character to no end

because reader was being honest when she said she probably would've ended up with Conway, realistically they would've ended up together if the games hadn't happened. she would have settled to have a normal life with him and would have been happy enough, but never as happy as she would be with Finnick

and Conway cared about her so much, that he would've been fine with that. honestly though I don't think Conway could have won, I think he was so angry when he realized reader had been using him, known his feelings and used it to get back to someone who'd once broken her heart just set him off. I think he would've instantly been flooded with guilt if she'd died and so either Birch or Marlowe would've won.

additionally I think about how Conway never would be able to understand why reader couldn't just actually love him back, when he cared so much, was so reasonable, but she just didn't want the life he did. and I tried to portray some of those differences when it came to reader wanting the peaches and trading the necklace because he's so do what you need, use what you can afford, and value what people give you, where's she more of you only live once, live for the moment, at least before her games.

and yes, reader knows that she has to perform to survive and that if she wins she can help her family, she would've thought she'd finally be able to live the life she wanted, and maybe finnick would take her back. in the catching fire book, Katniss mentions how she doesn't believe any victor is really a pure person since they did what they had to do to survive (she makes an exception for peeta) and I love being able to reflect that too. reader isn't some angel of a person, she uses someone's feelings, she manipulated, and lies. she's also a teenager, so even things she does before the games to conway are side effects of her being human and a teenager. she's not perfect, finnick's not perfect, conway isn't perfect. but they're all victims and all deserve so much better.

also a while back @howilyte made playlists about Conway and reader which I listen to a lot and there are at least two songs I need y'all to know I listen to whenever I'm thinking about writing each of them are

The Moon Will Sing for Conway

Just a Man for reader

anyways, sorry this is so long, but I love talking about all the intricacies so much and thank you for doing it with me, literally I want to hear every thought

Let's talk about Katniss's first interactions with Peeta and Gale.

While Peeta knew who Katniss was (and had a childlike infatuation with her), she only recognizes him as a boy in her year, the baker's son. And in that interaction, no words are exchanged, only Peeta seeing Katniss is on the edge of death and getting a black eye for his scheme to get her bread, saving her life and her family. He prolongs her life and energy long enough for spring to come and for Katniss to remember the forest and the knowledge her father gave her. They never exchange words after, only looks from then out until the reaping.

Now I don't want to be harsh on Gale. He was fourteen and thrust into being the "man of the house" with his mother and three younger siblings to care for, and Katniss was doing at least okay for herself. Similar to Peeta, Katniss has also seen Gale around but doesn't know him, although she recognizes him from the medal ceremony for their fathers' deaths. We don't know if he recognized her, though, as a fellow fatherless kid. As she examines his traps, he accuses her of attempting to steal from him. His interest in her only turns when he learns she has bows and arrows, and knows how to shoot. Katniss describes them "grudgingly" sharing their knowledge, weapons, and kills until they are truly a team.

What Gale did was not bad. It makes sense given his trauma and all of his responsibilities and the mouths he has to feed. We would all most likely react the same way that he did if someone was supposedly stealing food from our hungry family.

But at the same time, I think this is why Peeta stood out to Katniss so much that she kept an eye on him and why she was so distraught he'd been reaped alongside her. With everyone else, from even Gale and the Hob to the Capitol and the rebellion, Peeta is the only one who has not asked Katniss for anything. Who didn't help her out only once she had proven herself to be useful to him or had something he could get from her. Peeta is even surprised when Katniss says she still owes him for the bread, he doesn't even think that such an act of sacrifice needs to be returned. We know he loves her and that was his motivation, and yet he doesn't use this as an opportunity to make a move or even befriend her. Once they do know each other, he never uses it as leverage or a way to try and convince Katniss to be with him, because it likely doesn't even cross his mind for her to factor that into her decision. And when his mind is so gone from the hijacking he's struggling to even remember why he loved Katniss in the first place, that first interaction is at the core of their love. It's the answer for everything.

In a world of survival, when someone's usefulness and their social status as deemed by the Capitol all contribute to someone being worthy of living, Peeta sees a poor, starving girl from the Seam and takes a beating to feed her not for her usefulness to him, but because he loves her just for being.

Do you ever get annoyed with how Peeta and Haymitch reacted after the first games with regards to Katniss not be able to fake love?

I recently rewatched, and it occurs to me that they forced her to participate in the farce love story and then get snippy with her when she doesn't continue it. Peeta's attitude in CF, Haymitch telling her that she doesn't deserve Peeta, etc.

It just feels wrong since she never agreed to do it. She just played along to survive. It feels very... gross.

What do you think?

Yeah, all the time. I know the fandom loves to romanticize the scheme Haymitch and Peeta had going on as Haymitch & Peeta were trying to “keep Katniss alive,” I can understand that in the context of the Games, but cool motive, still skeevy, I guess? But also, it wasn’t like that at all.  At that point in time, Haymitch doesn't much care for Katniss or Peeta, he wants to "win" that year’s Games and sees them as an opportunity. They've inspired him, but at that point he isn’t invested in them emotionally, (he will be soon, but not yet fully) and jumps on Peeta’s confession to further his chances of bringing one of them through alive. (To win.) He’s already frustrated by Katniss’ inability to navigate the waters of the Games satisfactorily, and sees Peeta as the ticket to things going his way. Katniss herself says he prefers Peeta to her, and would have picked him. And that right there shows that from the beginning, Peeta was always the preferred one.    The Games do muddle the situation, because yes, within the context of the Games alone, the romance angle was an advantage, (sort of, because a case can very well be made that it hindered rather than helped Katniss, but that’s an issue for another day) but outside the Games that shit would have been an asshole move of the nth degree. Haymitch and Peeta took away any bit of autonomy Katniss might have had with the love confession/subsequent love story. Instead of playing the Games on her own terms, Katniss was instantly plunged into the roles Haymitch, Peeta, and the Capitol designated for her, and Katniss did not have a choice but to play them, or risk her life and family’s future, and yet she’s reupdated for...going along with everything?  Like, Peeta outright said he knew Katniss did not like him romantically and assumed Gale was her boyfriend, but instead of keeping that in mind in the arena, he A. falls hook, line and sinker for his own ploy in spite of supposedly being the smartest mf around, and B. decides that it is Katniss' fault somehow for grabbing the line he threw at her and then forced her to grab? Bro. Buddy. I would not have it. Also, how he immediately jumps on Katniss having kissed Gale? Despite knowing everything about that scenario, (including Gale and his family are also under threat) he only seemingly cares most if Katniss kiSsEd gaLe MoRe tHan OnCe? Something Katniss herself remarks on? and then how Peeta always drops in how much he loves Katniss romantically, despite how uncomfortable that makes Katniss herself? That’s pretty gross. At the least, uncomfortable. And I'm still struggling to understand why exactly Haymitch even said that. Why does Katniss not deserve Peeta? Because Peeta is charming, agreeable, diplomatic, outwardly palatable, and holds the advantage of being tits deep in unrequited love? And Katniss is not and does not? Because Katniss had a breakdown over her imminent death and commits the crime of falling into despair instead of being the first to beg to die for someone else? (that right there shows just how little anyone actually cares for Katniss herself unless she’s doing or acting how they want) That was not Haymitch said in the heat of the moment either, he meant it. Despite how much he cared for Katniss by that point, he still regarded Peeta as the one who was worth more, as did Katniss herself.  All in all, a substantial amount of time is spent punishing Katniss for something that was never her idea or her fault. Peeta’s love for Katniss was not her problem, but his, until he decided to make it her problem, which Haymitch aided and abetted, and then the two spend all too much time going “woe is me” at Katniss throughout the series.