✨mona✨

Also me: you’re missing the point! You’re missing the point! YOURE MISSING THE POINT! He grew up starving. His best friend almost died of hunger. Most of his people live in poverty. He watched children die in a bloodbath every year for the capital’s entertainment. The girl he loved went into the games. Was tortured by the capitol. His district was bombed out of existence. Nearly everyone he knew was killed. Their only crime was being fed up of being hungry and oppressed and sharing the same district as Katniss. All those innocent people. Murdered. He had to take refuge in a district that was bombed out of existence and forced to live underground. Of course he joined the war effort. Of course he designed unethical bombs and battle tactics. He wanted revenge. He wanted the capitol to have a taste of their own medicine. He wanted the rebellion to succeed. And tell me you could live through what he did, and that no part of you would be screaming for Justice and vengeance. Gale is you. You are Gale. He represents a part of feelings and actions that reside within us, even if you don’t act on it.

“But he killed prim!” Exactly! Gale loved prim. She was a second family to her. He looked after Katniss’ family. He saved them from the district 12 bombings. He loved her. He never would’ve put her in danger. He never would’ve put in order for a bombing if it would kill Prim. But coin would. And did. She took what was meant to be a tool of Gale’s righteous revenge for all the suffering he and his people suffered through, only for someone in power to take it and use it to kill someone he loved.

There’s some many lessons to take. We can’t control the things we create. War spares no one. Even justifiable rage and actions can end up rebounding and hurting those you love instead of your targets.

like at MOST he is an 18 year old boy who hasn't even aged out of getting reaped. almost all of the characters are young with some notable exceptions, and gale is EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD!!!! him making poor choices should be expected, especially considering the terrible universe he's in where making decisions can mean life or death, both for you and your family

beyond that, gale has absolutely no idea about the in-depth inner workings of the capitol like katniss does. katniss has survived the games and lived through them, and she understands that they never end, especially not after what she pulled with the nightlock. gale has none of the context we have; he doesn't know what katniss knows. to him, the games end once you're crowned a victor. he doesn't understand that the capitol is infinitely worse than expected, and that the games don't stop even once you've technically "won"

and even Beyond his crush on katniss, it makes sense for him to be stunned at her sudden "dating" and eventual "marriage" of peeta. his best friend, who has never expressed romantic interest in ANYONE, is suddenly in love with this boy? and is kissing him? and is actively saving his life because she's "in love" with him? even if he wasn't jealous, it makes sense on why he would be confused and hurt on why she wasn't telling him anything. gale also has no idea the threats snow has made to katniss, and her sudden secretiveness when they used to be so open would have to hurt

gale has never had to "play smart" with the capitol. he has never had to be involved in their games like katniss. all he knows is that he hates the capitol and that he wants every last capitolite to die, and that the best way to do that is to just Blatantly kill them. katniss knows that this isn't an option, and that people she loves are at risk Because of her, and that she can't just do whatever she wants. gale doesn't have that risk, and he doesn't Know about it either

he seems horribly unfair from katniss's pov, and to a degree he absolutely is. but he's also Eighteen Years Old, has lost his home, seems to have lost his best friend, and is now fighting in a war, and all of that happened in under two years. i definitely think that the way he goes about things in regards to katniss is fucking ridiculous because obvious i know what he doesn't, but he's also EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD!!!!! the dude has NO fucking idea what the capitol is actually like and what it means to enter the games (and how you never leave them)

i think gale's actions are all so painfully spot-on for him. everything he does is just very Gale and makes sense. he's angry, he has no context, he has NONE of the information that katniss has until later on, and even then, it's not the full story. he's an eighteen year old boy put in a very unfair situation, and he has no idea how to handle any of it beyond just being angry, because that's all he's ever been