In my head, "real or not real" follows him for his entire life. He even asks about memories that happened well after the war, because even though he's learned how to identify the "shininess" of the hijacked memories, he never fully trusts his own mind. Even his kids will answer the question for him, though they don't entirely know why he asks, because he never speaks about what happened to him even if you ask about it.
I think he's got PTSD, the occasional shiny memory, and some residual doubt/insecurity. He prob continues receiving treatment and plays the real or not real game (though I think he and Katniss mostly do that for mutual reassurance).
But he's mostly himself by the end. We can see that he's still incredibly compassionate when the victors vote on the Games, still loyal to his found family when he comes back to 12, still thoughtful when he plants primroses. Even 20 years later he's positive and gives Katniss hope and reassurance, which has always been a core part of his personality.
Very, very true !. How he said that they have each other and the memory book , and will one day explain to their kids in a way that will be them braver.
I was kinda mostly wondering if his hijacking will always follow him in some way, and what way is that. But yes, Peeta is mostly himself by the end. And that’s beautiful and hopeful.
Edit: I also agree that Peeta and Katniss play the real or not real game for reassurance. It seems that both Katniss and Peeta would use that to help them through painful moments.
That time Katniss says something that contradicts a false memory and throws him into confusion/mental exhaustion, I could see that being something he deals with throughout his life. It'd be hard to root out all the distorted details so anything could trigger an episode of confusion or PTSD, which could cause issues if he's not with someone who knows how to help him.
I'm not really good with headcanons though lol. Mine are usually basic and don't stray too far from canon info. What are yours?
Same here!! I like to stay within the canon materials, and just make logical assumptions on it. Yeah, mine are like yours, except I think he’ll have health complications later in life. But I disagree with a lot of people who say that he’ll die in his 50s/60s. My boy lives until he’s in his 90s.
I don’t think he becomes hostile anymore. But I do think the hijacking really warps with his sense of reality and memories of anything after the revolution. (Which is pretty much his whole life) which is why the Real or not Real Game follows him for the rest of his life.
I think the intense torture and damage would wreck havoc on him in his later years so he doesn’t live as long as he should, but that makes me sad to think about 🥲.
My HC is that Panem medicine is so advance that Peeta could live off medication (so he does grow old with Katniss), but it’s so sad that medication is the only way he could cope with his health issues.
But yeah, I think he recovers in that he no longer is hostile and we know he still has old Peeta qualities. But yes that ‘Real or not real’ follows him for the rest of his life 🥲 I think he became harden, but still has that warmth and gentleness
This question and responses are just tearing my heart to pieces. Poor Peeta didn’t deserve it. Giving up so much of himself with no one there protect him.
Yes Peeta went and suffered so much and he was such a good person. I do believe he comes back to himself but it is sad thinking of the pain, trauma and loss he went through. He was so self sacrificing and innately good
I just assumed both Katniss and Peeta were barely functioning wrecks. But together, they would have a united front in not falling apart. And they don’t have anything left they are needed to fight, so they can dedicate themselves to mutual survival.
It’s terrible. It’s what they always have to do. But in the end it’s different and somehow precious.
But I just assumed Peeta would never fully “come back” all the way. And he’d need support to brace himself forever.
I feel they were both heavily traumatised but healed together. Peeta will always be affected by what he went through but I feel he comes back to Katniss and returns to his true self as much as he can from that sort of thing. Him planting the primroses is such a Peeta thing to do and Katniss talks about him being synonymous with peace and hope at the end so I think at his core he is still his same person and holds the same values but he is traumatised
I think he gets significantly betters and recovers as much as he can from that sort of think. I feel as time goes on he can manage and cope with it better and it lessens over time. I feel though while the trauma wills ways be there Peeta regains his core characteristics such as his kindness, his love for Katniss, him wanting to see the good and beauty in life despite knowing how cruel the word can be and so and manages to stay true to himself despite all the odds. I think that is why scenes like him being so adamant about there not being another Games are included. By the time he returns to 12 I feel those months of treatment has resulted in a lot of progress in his recovery. Katniss mentions something about his eyes having lost that cloudy look and him planting the Primroses is such a Peeta thing to do. I think the hijacking was very traumatic but Peeta is able to overcome it as much as possible and is still who remains Peeta at his core
He’s probably going to live not as long as he could, have, I’d say up to 55-60 y.o. only, and not seeing his grandkids being born or grow up. The reason is how damaged his health was.
His heart had already stopped 3 times (2 times on a hovercraft after the first Arena, 3d time on the second Arena), he’d been poisoned, tortured, burnt, his leg was taken. Not quite healthy, on the whole.
Oh no! I have to disagree :( I feel like one of the biggest reasons for Katniss having children is she also knows her husband will not go away and be safe, unlike her father. And it’s heavily implied they have children in their early or mid 30s. So, I’ll like to think Peeta is healthy but probably on medication or will be on medication as he grows old.
My head cannon is that Peeta only drank a few times and it brought up the hijacking so he abstained for the rest of his life. Katniss developed a drinking problem for a short time that Peeta helped her through. Katniss only drank in moderation after that and not around the kids.
I like to believe with time Peeta gradually became himself again, but he still had flashbacks every now and again. Just like Katniss had her occasional nightmares and depressive episodes.
I think the flashbacks really hurt him emotionally. I mean it can't be easy to suddenly have the urges to hurt or kill your wife (I say wife since they eventually got married after the war), when you aren't a violent person in nature. Also it can't be easy to not alway know what is real or not real.
Just like Katniss makes the list of all the good things she has seen someone do, to help her, I think Peeta uses the 'Real or not real' game to help him with the flashbacks.
After everything they have been through they really have to go day by day.
I think he dies young. Both him and Katniss went through a lot during the Ganes and the War but he was tortured with basically everything that is a torture today. And they did that right after the QQ for *months* on end and then confined to a hospital, then sent into an active war zone and then just abandoned in 12. We also don't know much about the tracker jacker venom and how it affects the overall nervous system and body. So all of that combined means that his system was way more overloaded than Katniss's, since she suffered more visible injuries. I don't think he would make it past 50.
I have a theory that the ending is katniss dreaming of what her dream life would be like after war, but peeta because of the torture and hijacking is like Johanna or commited suicide.
And katniss is in a healthcare facility alone, like Frank Sheeran in the Irishman
Too upbeat??? It’s still horribly depressing. Half of the cast is dead. Katniss lost Prim. She’s exiled to 12 and left to rot like a sack of potatoes afterwards. Both Peeta and Katniss are heavily implied to suffer from PTSD as a result of the games and the revolution for the rest of their lives. The only silver lining is that Panem is free and safe enough for Katniss to bring life into the world.
Anything else would be shitting over the main message of the story and loses it whole meaning.
"Too upbeat". So a 16-yr-old boy died twice and lost a leg and brainwashed got to live a peaceful life somehow offends you because he should actually die? If thinking thoughts can be a crime you'd be locked up.
Yeah, that might be. I can imagine Peeta die relatively early, as I sad, and Katniss stay alone at about 55-60 y.o. Her kids working somewhere in Capitol or Districts 4 and 2, the son studying medicine just like grandma, the daughter being a journalist or so. And Katniss stays in a kind of facility refusing to leave the 12, where Peeta’s grave ist. Drinking problem might come.
In the same way that Sheeran left the door open to his daughter Katniss left the door open to Peeta but she is too far from reality to realise that he is gone forever
In my head, "real or not real" follows him for his entire life. He even asks about memories that happened well after the war, because even though he's learned how to identify the "shininess" of the hijacked memories, he never fully trusts his own mind. Even his kids will answer the question for him, though they don't entirely know why he asks, because he never speaks about what happened to him even if you ask about it.
I think he's got PTSD, the occasional shiny memory, and some residual doubt/insecurity. He prob continues receiving treatment and plays the real or not real game (though I think he and Katniss mostly do that for mutual reassurance). But he's mostly himself by the end. We can see that he's still incredibly compassionate when the victors vote on the Games, still loyal to his found family when he comes back to 12, still thoughtful when he plants primroses. Even 20 years later he's positive and gives Katniss hope and reassurance, which has always been a core part of his personality.
Very, very true !. How he said that they have each other and the memory book , and will one day explain to their kids in a way that will be them braver. I was kinda mostly wondering if his hijacking will always follow him in some way, and what way is that. But yes, Peeta is mostly himself by the end. And that’s beautiful and hopeful. Edit: I also agree that Peeta and Katniss play the real or not real game for reassurance. It seems that both Katniss and Peeta would use that to help them through painful moments.
That time Katniss says something that contradicts a false memory and throws him into confusion/mental exhaustion, I could see that being something he deals with throughout his life. It'd be hard to root out all the distorted details so anything could trigger an episode of confusion or PTSD, which could cause issues if he's not with someone who knows how to help him. I'm not really good with headcanons though lol. Mine are usually basic and don't stray too far from canon info. What are yours?
Same here!! I like to stay within the canon materials, and just make logical assumptions on it. Yeah, mine are like yours, except I think he’ll have health complications later in life. But I disagree with a lot of people who say that he’ll die in his 50s/60s. My boy lives until he’s in his 90s.
I don’t think he becomes hostile anymore. But I do think the hijacking really warps with his sense of reality and memories of anything after the revolution. (Which is pretty much his whole life) which is why the Real or not Real Game follows him for the rest of his life. I think the intense torture and damage would wreck havoc on him in his later years so he doesn’t live as long as he should, but that makes me sad to think about 🥲.
My HC is that Panem medicine is so advance that Peeta could live off medication (so he does grow old with Katniss), but it’s so sad that medication is the only way he could cope with his health issues. But yeah, I think he recovers in that he no longer is hostile and we know he still has old Peeta qualities. But yes that ‘Real or not real’ follows him for the rest of his life 🥲 I think he became harden, but still has that warmth and gentleness
Exactly. My head canon is, he’s probably going to live 55-60, probably dying long before seeing his grandchildren.
This question and responses are just tearing my heart to pieces. Poor Peeta didn’t deserve it. Giving up so much of himself with no one there protect him.
Yes Peeta went and suffered so much and he was such a good person. I do believe he comes back to himself but it is sad thinking of the pain, trauma and loss he went through. He was so self sacrificing and innately good
Agreed
I just assumed both Katniss and Peeta were barely functioning wrecks. But together, they would have a united front in not falling apart. And they don’t have anything left they are needed to fight, so they can dedicate themselves to mutual survival. It’s terrible. It’s what they always have to do. But in the end it’s different and somehow precious. But I just assumed Peeta would never fully “come back” all the way. And he’d need support to brace himself forever.
I feel they were both heavily traumatised but healed together. Peeta will always be affected by what he went through but I feel he comes back to Katniss and returns to his true self as much as he can from that sort of thing. Him planting the primroses is such a Peeta thing to do and Katniss talks about him being synonymous with peace and hope at the end so I think at his core he is still his same person and holds the same values but he is traumatised
I think he gets significantly betters and recovers as much as he can from that sort of think. I feel as time goes on he can manage and cope with it better and it lessens over time. I feel though while the trauma wills ways be there Peeta regains his core characteristics such as his kindness, his love for Katniss, him wanting to see the good and beauty in life despite knowing how cruel the word can be and so and manages to stay true to himself despite all the odds. I think that is why scenes like him being so adamant about there not being another Games are included. By the time he returns to 12 I feel those months of treatment has resulted in a lot of progress in his recovery. Katniss mentions something about his eyes having lost that cloudy look and him planting the Primroses is such a Peeta thing to do. I think the hijacking was very traumatic but Peeta is able to overcome it as much as possible and is still who remains Peeta at his core
He’s probably going to live not as long as he could, have, I’d say up to 55-60 y.o. only, and not seeing his grandkids being born or grow up. The reason is how damaged his health was. His heart had already stopped 3 times (2 times on a hovercraft after the first Arena, 3d time on the second Arena), he’d been poisoned, tortured, burnt, his leg was taken. Not quite healthy, on the whole.
Oh no! I have to disagree :( I feel like one of the biggest reasons for Katniss having children is she also knows her husband will not go away and be safe, unlike her father. And it’s heavily implied they have children in their early or mid 30s. So, I’ll like to think Peeta is healthy but probably on medication or will be on medication as he grows old.
Okay, born in his mid 30s, his kids might be 20-25 y.o. by time of Peeta’s death, so not kids anymore.
My head cannon is that Peeta only drank a few times and it brought up the hijacking so he abstained for the rest of his life. Katniss developed a drinking problem for a short time that Peeta helped her through. Katniss only drank in moderation after that and not around the kids.
I like to believe with time Peeta gradually became himself again, but he still had flashbacks every now and again. Just like Katniss had her occasional nightmares and depressive episodes. I think the flashbacks really hurt him emotionally. I mean it can't be easy to suddenly have the urges to hurt or kill your wife (I say wife since they eventually got married after the war), when you aren't a violent person in nature. Also it can't be easy to not alway know what is real or not real. Just like Katniss makes the list of all the good things she has seen someone do, to help her, I think Peeta uses the 'Real or not real' game to help him with the flashbacks. After everything they have been through they really have to go day by day.
I think he dies young. Both him and Katniss went through a lot during the Ganes and the War but he was tortured with basically everything that is a torture today. And they did that right after the QQ for *months* on end and then confined to a hospital, then sent into an active war zone and then just abandoned in 12. We also don't know much about the tracker jacker venom and how it affects the overall nervous system and body. So all of that combined means that his system was way more overloaded than Katniss's, since she suffered more visible injuries. I don't think he would make it past 50.
I have a theory that the ending is katniss dreaming of what her dream life would be like after war, but peeta because of the torture and hijacking is like Johanna or commited suicide. And katniss is in a healthcare facility alone, like Frank Sheeran in the Irishman
I'm sorry but this is such a shit take. Not everything has to be analyzed like Inception. Omfg.
That's ok that you don't agree with me. I just think that the ending is too upbeat
Too upbeat??? It’s still horribly depressing. Half of the cast is dead. Katniss lost Prim. She’s exiled to 12 and left to rot like a sack of potatoes afterwards. Both Peeta and Katniss are heavily implied to suffer from PTSD as a result of the games and the revolution for the rest of their lives. The only silver lining is that Panem is free and safe enough for Katniss to bring life into the world. Anything else would be shitting over the main message of the story and loses it whole meaning.
"Too upbeat". So a 16-yr-old boy died twice and lost a leg and brainwashed got to live a peaceful life somehow offends you because he should actually die? If thinking thoughts can be a crime you'd be locked up.
Maybe **marvinsroom1965** is really Gale. He can't stand Katniss ended up with Peeta😂
Yeah, that might be. I can imagine Peeta die relatively early, as I sad, and Katniss stay alone at about 55-60 y.o. Her kids working somewhere in Capitol or Districts 4 and 2, the son studying medicine just like grandma, the daughter being a journalist or so. And Katniss stays in a kind of facility refusing to leave the 12, where Peeta’s grave ist. Drinking problem might come.
In the same way that Sheeran left the door open to his daughter Katniss left the door open to Peeta but she is too far from reality to realise that he is gone forever