even dead, i'm the hero

Part of her wants to think it’s weird that she feels this way about Ben after only a week of living together, after barely a few weeks of being something close to friends but—it’s not. In some ways, it seems like she and Ben were always supposed to end up here, ten years of history built up in their systems, like a volcano, about to explode. Malibu had been the eruption.

+

#secret relationship trope hitting it every time

but i don't think that haymitch is calling out katniss for giving peeta space. because she wasn't giving him space in the warzone. she was actively being antagonistic towards him, unprompted. she is stripping peeta of his humanity. so, haymitch is upset. and he is calling her out on it. 

katniss emphasized that peeta was no longer a human, but a mutt. in the games, killing a human being took a huge toll on katniss. in contrast, katniss doesn't feel regret over killing a mutt. so by calling peeta a mutt, she essentially saying that (1) she no longer considers him a human and (2) his death would not mean anything to her. 

and. that. is. not. okay. 

it doesn't matter to me how upset she was. it doesn't matter how different this peeta was. it doesn't matter to me the cutting remarks peeta said to her before in district thirteen. this is more than just insulting peeta. this is more than just putting distance between herself and peeta. she is stripping a human being of his humanity. exactly the type of perspective that peeta always posited was wrong, even in the context of the games and war. the kind of perspective that turns people into monsters they are not.

in this moment, katniss's rage turns her into a monster, someone who is able to put aside the humanity of her enemy. because of her blind rage. a type of rage that doesn't consider consequences. and it reminds me of someone else who, in their worst moments, can use their rage to justify dehumanizing people. gale.

and so it is so ironic that, right after this, katniss is so surprised by the brutality and extremity of gale's offer to kill peeta for her. like girl, why are you so surprised? gale is just picking up the messages you were putting down. and i have heard many people talk about how gale was too harsh in this moment, but not enough people calling out katniss for expressing the same opinion the moment before.

and i guess i am a little upset at katniss here. i can understand her lashing out at peeta in district thirteen. i can understand her running from him. i can even understand her casting him off (though i don't support it). but i refuse to acknowledge any validity of katniss's actions or feelings in this instance. 

and i do not conclude that haymitch was too harsh on her. someone needed to call her out for how wrong she was acting. 

because it was not okay what she did. period. 

and she did need to consider what peeta would do if their positions were reversed. maybe peeta would give her space. maybe he would run away. but peeta would never, ever dehumanize her. because he did not, even at his worst, dehumanize people. not even hijacked peeta did not dehumanize people.