Forest Fairy's The Hunger Games Fanfiction Recs VI
Mama Mellark - Misunderstood Mamabear or Mean Monster Ma?
Do you sometimes read a story that is very short, but that just pulls on your heartstrings for some reason? I do. I admit I have a weakness for a certain kind of story when it comes to the Hunger Games. It's probably not even so much a story, but more a scene. A scene in which Peeta Mellark stars with his mother. I admit the title here is a bit provoking. It's obvious that she is neither of these two. I'm interested in this woman, how she ticks, why she acts like she does. I read all the stories that focus on her on ff.net, and I especially like the ones that go a bit deeper. If you search under the character "Mrs. M" you'll find them all.
Canon for me is just too vague. Yes, this is Katniss' story and she won't go into deep. For her Mama Mellark is the witch, that mean evil being that hit Peeta. From Peeta we barely get more info. Only that he is pretty hurt about the way his mother acted in the justice building where she basically gives up on him. Then later he tells Katniss that his father wanted to marry Mama Everdeen. And there you have the reason that most writers think she becomes so cold. She is her husband's second choice and that is widely accepted. I'm not totally sure about this interpretation as the explanation for her every motivation, but it does make sense.
I always found Mother/Child relationships in media captivating. It is the aspect in childhood that forms one into the person they become as an adult and in Peeta's case - I think there is just so much more to it. Peeta is a strong person and I don't believe for one second he has been abused all his life. Sometimes in fan fiction he is still beaten up by her at 16, but I'm not sure about this. It might be commonly believed because of the movie where Katniss and Peeta are basically the same age as at the reaping when the bread incident happens. If he would have been beaten up every day until the reaping, he wouldn't have turned out the way he did, imho. I would love to write a story about her, but there are already great stories out there and I'm not sure I could add something new.
The worst game of all by springsdandelion (writergirlie)
This one doesn't focus on Peeta's mother that much. It is more about Peeta's unrequited love for Katniss after the 74th Hunger Games. It's pretty short and angsty, but this story does belong in the "pull on your heartstrings category" definitely. You just want to give Peeta a big hug after it is over. Oh, unrequited love and jealousy, that's drama. The only small critique I have is that Peeta's mother seems to know what an avox is and I find that extremely unlikely. The fact that Peeta is similar to his mother though is beautifully worked out in here.
the consolation (prize) by annieoakley1
This one is even shorter, but it brings tears to my eyes every time I read it. It's basically one short conversation between Peeta and his mother and she is very human here. No stereotyping at all. There is also this fine nuance of him feeling inferior to his brothers something I can relate to as I'm also the youngest in my family. All in all a 1000 word small gem.
Like I wrote before if you check the Mrs. Mellark tag on AO3 or choose her as a a character in the fic search of fanfiction.net you'll find many great stories that focus on her. The only one left I want to mention here is
Thrice by lieselmemingers
This author, like silvercistern, is so well known in The Hunger Games fanfiction community that recommendations aren't necessesary, imho. People know these authors and their stories, probably read them a million times before and that is very much deserved. They seemed to have moved on and I think it's nice to recommend some older stories once in a while. In Thrice you can see Mrs. Mellark through Mr. Mellark's eyes. Pretty interesting and sad.
There are so many great stories about Mrs. M. I remember others as well, some are even more angsty. She does show up in a number of alternate universe fanfiction when District 12 isn't bombed. The Mellark family is interesting and I'm glad that great fanfiction authors spend time exploring this. In the end she, her husband and Peeta's brothers all died. This is a horrible thought as Peeta obviously loved them. He says in Catching Fire that he also has a family he wants to protect. This makes it even more sad, imho. If you know any great canon fics exploring her character more, please tell me! I'd like to read more about her.
Note:
I also updated the Rec post The Lone Victor with a new story. And purple_cube the author I recommended in my second rec post was sweet enough to write a great smut drabble starring Katniss/Peeta in a Capitol elevator after a prompt of mine. Check it out, you won't regret it.
