I don't know what ships you hate and would love to learn at least about some of them 😂
Was going to go on a whole rant about all the OUAT pairings I despise but then I got self-conscious because I felt like I was just repeating things either myself or other people have said already. I am, however, in the middle of A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, which has brought up my feelings of resentment toward Gale from the original Hunger Games trilogy. So I am going to complain about that instead.
Katniss x Gale (Everthorne?)
1. Why don't you ship it?
Is always trying to invalidate, mock, and belittle her feelings
Is constantly whining about Peeta despite the fact that Katniss has literally no choice but to be with him in Catching Fire unless she wants to be punished or killed by the Capitol
I feel like I remember him forcing a kiss on her at least once
He only realizes he's attracted to her when he sees someone else hitting on her instead of noticing something about her he likes
Their relationship has always been very transactional
Gale represents death (the bombs he invents and the fact he and katniss make a pact to kill each other if either or them is captured) while Peeta represents life (the bread, the dandelion)
He misreprents Katniss all the time, seeing her as more cruel and calculating than she actually is
Becomes jealous of Peeta for being captured, tortured, and hijacked by the capitol because he thinks that means he's going to get more attention from Katniss
HE LITERALLY INVENTS THE BOMB TRAP THAT KILLS HER SISTER
AND DOESNT EVEN APOLOGIZE FOR IT
He just goes "aww so I guess that means you won't choose me now 🥺" and then never speaks to her again, never tries to make amends, never even seems guilty or heartbroken over it
2. What would have make you like it?
I don't think I'd ever see them as endgame (not when Peeta is right there) but if Gale had expressed genuine remorse over what he did to Prim, if him hurting the woman he supposedly loved haunted him until the day he died, I think I could find some beautiful tragedy in all that mess, and hope for some type of healing or reconciliation for them. But he doesn't so good riddance.
3. Despite not shipping it, do you have any good things to say about it?
It's well written. Collins has a way of making sure everything she writes has a point, a point that can then be utilized to stab directly into the heart of her readers. I love that Gale is used to represent all the things that Katniss is trying to run from, the things she doesn't actually need.
