Many (many) moons ago I lurked around the Roswell fandom until that naturally ran its course (M&M forever though...) and it was years later (many many years) that I ended up lurking around The Hunger Games fandom and the joy that was Everlark.
It was this piece of work, one of the first that I read, that kickstarted a new addiction for me. “Oh no,” I thought. “I’ve only gone and gotten hooked on fanfiction again.” But what a way to be introduced.
Hero of The Story by Atetheredmind (aka @muttpeeta) can be found here. It was a two-parter written back in 2012 but a much welcomed third part was added on in 2014. I am greedy and would happily beg for another million parts if I could.
The rating is Explicit and there are a few triggers – spoilers –don’t read if you are impacted by infidelity or abortions.
By the end of the summer, Peeta Mellark had married the shoemaker's daughter. And by the end of the summer, Katniss had wed Gale in a small toasting ceremony. AU where Prim and Peeta are never reaped, and where there is no mockingjay, no rebellion.
The story is told from the third person point of view of Katniss and, as per the summary, investigates what would have happened if Prim and Peeta had never been reaped but if Panem with the games still existed.
This is very much a ‘what if?’ story and, in my completely biased opinion, is the best version of this type of ‘what if’ that I have come across in The Hunger Games fandom. Life for Katniss and Peeta has continued as it would have done. Without the games and the rebellion and the impact of Katniss being the ‘Mockingjay’ they are just two children who grew up to be adults in a world that keeps oppressing and destroying lives.
This Katniss and this Peeta are nothing special. I don’t mean that in a negative way but Katniss’ archery talents are used for hunting not figure heading a rebellion. The path she goes down is the one that she probably always would have gone down without the games – a life in the Seam and a marriage to Gale that gets increasingly more miserable as she realises, too late, that they’ll just burn each other out.
That’s where Peeta comes in, also living a life of domestically, although seemingly (but not really) happier than Katniss’ one. Their shared history with the bread and a mutual attraction that could never be diminished comes into play and we watch as fate begins to unfurl.
That’s what this is about. Fate. This piece of writing looks at the truth of Katniss’ statement, ‘this would have happened anyway,’ and puts it in one of the most realistic AU’s possible. If we watched Everlark fight and suffer to be with each other with the games then they also fight and suffer to be with each other without. The challenges differ but the outcome is the same - in any universe Everlark are meant to be.
The writing is brilliant and the characterisation is spot on. All major characters (and I include Gale in this) are flawed but no one is the villain here, just victims of circumstances, bad luck and timing. This also contains a good example of how to foreshadow. Again, spoilers, but I knew that an unwanted pregnancy was going to transpire at some point, just how and by whom wasn’t clear. But this is how you foreshadow.
I think I’ve read this story a hundred times since I initially read it and I don’t think I’ll ever stop re-reading it. I don’t play favourites but if I did, this would be it.
My favourite line is this one, a simple statement from Peeta himself: -
I think I am simply and utterly doomed to be hopelessly in love with only one woman for the rest of my life
Personal headcanon on what happens after the fic: -
This ended with another hint of fate playing its part. Within this universe, just like Katniss and Peeta are meant to be, the rebellion is also fated to occur. Without Katniss and Peeta in the games it just happens to occur a lot later when Everlark have established a life together with their daughter.
I would love another addition to this story, one where we can see Katniss and Peeta together for the final time but I like to think they introduce the remnants of District 12 to their wilderness life (with a little consternation from Gale) and create their own settlement for a while.
I like to think that the rebellion carries on, that Snow and the Capitol and overthrown and yes, in this universe there is a strong chance that Coin becomes president. However, in this universe Katniss is no threat and if they choose to stay in their wilderness, travel to District 13 or eventually return to a re-built District 12 (I prefer the latter) they do so with their daughter, their yet to be born son but most of all with each other.
