she killed it with kisses and from it she fled

[redbrunja]

ever_neutral asked me to talk about Katniss/Peeta on December 22nd (I'm five minutes late, sue me). So, to properly prepare for this question, I reread The Hunger Games over the weekend, trying to pin down the exact moment I started shipping them. I also reread my first post about THG, where I said that after reading the first book I would have been okay with her ending up with either Peeta or Gale, which... I think was not untrue, but I distinctly remember a point about 2/3 of the way through the first book when I wanted her to end up with Peeta more.

What I love about the romance in the first book, it that... it's just delightful. In the sense that it is complicated and twisty and makes things harder. The book hits this point at the 2/3 mark - possibly earlier - where I am 100% convinced that Peeta is ridiculously in love with Katniss and Katniss is both deeply suspicious of Peeta and uncertain of her own feelings (enough though I am reading this book going 'FEELINGS! THOSE ARE FEELINGS YOU'RE FEELING, KATNISS!').

So, yeah, it's just fabulous.

OH THE SUBJECT OF REREADING, knowing what happens, here is my theory on some of the things we don't see:

Haymitch and Cinna were already spending time together, looking for ways to undermine the Capitol (that's why Cinna volunteered for District 12). Getting Katniss and Peeta was a surprise > Haymitch thinks maybe he can get one of these kids out alive, especially after Peeta (I am assuming) comes to him and is like, 'so, how can I best help Katniss' and the romance storyline starts. It turns into this symbol of rebellion kind of by accident (the berries) and the rebellion runs with it.

Does that make sense to other people? I had the desire to chart it out, given the huge shift in what's going on behind the scenes between THG and Catching Fire - like, the rebellion had to have already been forming or else they wouldn't have been able to capitalize on Katniss and Peeta's public romance.

Comments

[purple-cube.livejournal.com]

Haymitch and Cinna were already spending time together, looking for ways to undermine the Capitol

That's a really interesting idea. I recently re-read the books too, and was struck by how involved Cinna must have been with the rebels in order to design (a) the wedding dress-turned-mockingjay and (b) the rebellion outfit for Katniss in District 13. I would love to read more about Cinna's history with the rebellion should you ever write it.

(Also, hi. I added you recently because I came across your posts on my friends-of-friends page and found them interesting :) )

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

by how involved Cinna must have been with the rebels in order to design (a) the wedding dress-turned-mockingjay and (b) the rebellion outfit for Katniss in District 13. I would love to read more about Cinna's history with the rebellion should you ever write it.

I will probably never write about it, but it's certainly interesting to think about, and one of those threads that you don't (or at least I didn't) catch until I was rereading.

[fairest1.livejournal.com]

I'd gotten the impression that the rebellion was already simmering quietly, had been for decades, just waiting, and that the mockingjay had already been chosen as its emblem from the start -- and that's where the pin came from. Nice things, in this world, tend to only exist because someone with influence wanted them to exist. Why would they opt for a pin depicting a mockingjay, a creature the Capitol prefers to ignore?

Haymitch was in on it, sure -- though he had a "screw it, I'll sober up when things start looking serious" attitude toward the situation. Cinna had held his design in reserve until he found someone who could serve as a symbol.

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

lol, no suing from me -- I've completely fallen behind on the meme because of The Real Life and my own post about Katniss/Peeta probably won't be happening until January, apologies!

The book hits this point at the 2/3 mark - possibly earlier - where I am 100% convinced that Peeta is ridiculously in love with Katniss and Katniss is both deeply suspicious of Peeta and uncertain of her own feelings

This is exactly it!! Like you I was always pretty much equal opportunity wrt the ~triangle, but at the same I always found Katniss/Peeta more intellectually interesting because of the entire fake relationship setup? The INHERENT ambiguity of their dynamic was just om nom nom.

Haymitch and Cinna were already spending time together, looking for ways to undermine the Capitol (that's why Cinna volunteered for District 12). Getting Katniss and Peeta was a surprise > Haymitch thinks maybe he can get one of these kids out alive, especially after Peeta (I am assuming) comes to him and is like, 'so, how can I best help Katniss' and the romance storyline starts. It turns into this symbol of rebellion kind of by accident (the berries) and the rebellion runs with it.

I buy it.