Simply stunning. I especially love your choice of words and how you string them, along with the idea of exploring a sadder lonelier side to Peeta post-Games. My favorites would have to be 1 and 2: namely because we hardly get enough Madge around here and the hint of Gale/Madge in the second. Poor Peeta.

But the last passage is quite a work of art in itself. I really love this line - He wonders whether she is still waxed and Polished clean and what she tastes like down below, if she tastes like wind through leaves or like rain outside a small, cozy cave or like poison, like nightlock.

Thank you so much! I love Madge, so I was excited when I realized I had an idea to use her. And I LOVE writing Peeta character studies... I think he's a lot more complex than he comes across the first time you read the books, you know? He isn't JUST a metaphor for goodness.

Oh Peeta, you naughty thing. I loved this so much. Especially this from 2:

Gale Hawthorne, she offered, like it was a normal thing to say right now, like it wouldn’t rip Peeta’s fucking heart out. While you were gone.

Ah Gale, I love to hate/hate to love him.

Thank you so much! He IS a naughty little thing. :P LOL

I'm glad you liked it!

Gale Hawthorne, she offered, like it was a normal thing to say right now, like it wouldn’t rip Peeta’s fucking heart out. While you were gone.

Well, that completely broke my heart.

I really loved this. But maybe especially that second part. It was just so sad for baby Peeta :(. And I really like Madge in general, so it was nice seeing a bit of her, too.

:D Thank you very much, my dear. The second one was my favorite to write, too.

And I really like Madge, too -- I think she's intentionally set up to be Katniss' equal opposite, and I'd love to explore that more/seen it explored more in fandom.

Ahh, these are so beautiful. That second one still kills me. Oh Peeta :(

Thank you, lovely. This whole fic was entirely because of you! :-*

Love the way you've characterized Peeta. My criticisms are ones that are common for p much all erotic stories. YMMV, of course, but when I hear about pussy smelling and tasting like rain or ice or flowers, I cringe. Also, bleeding or not bleeding doesn't mean the girl is or isn't a virgin.

Delly didn't bleed because she was a virgin, necessarily, she bled because he hurt her. That's why it's framed into the devolving sybolism of Peeta breaking down and becoming more hurtful/violent in general, and why Delly is the turning point in the story before Bristel and after Madge. The story is organized the way it is for a reason... ;)

Thanks for reading!

ahhhhhhhh. fair :)

You know this is the first THG fic I've read and I just have to say I love the way you captured this side of Peeta.
I guess now I'im gonna read the other two... maybe you have some recs?

Thank you so much! I have three other THG fics that I've written --

The Five Words Peeta Only Says in the Dark

Character/Relationships: Katniss/Peeta
Rating: R
Warnings: Some mild sexual content.
Wordcount: 1,200

Peeta Mellark's Five Favorite Things to Bake

Summary: Peeta Mellark is ninety-six years old and the most beloved person in the Coal Estate, which was once – a long time ago, now – known as District 12.
Character/Relationships: Peeta (character study), Katniss/Peeta, mentions of Finnick/Annie
Rating: G
Warnings: Spoilers for all three books.
Wordcount: 2,435

Twenty-Four Victors, Twenty-Four Tributes: Meet Your Quarter Quell Contestants

Character/Relationships: The 24 tributes of the Quarter Quell. References to Katniss/Peeta, Finnick/Annie, Haymitch/Chaff, but no actual pairings or shipping content. Gen.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Spoilers for all three books. Violence, forced sexual slavery, enforced reproduction, sexual/physical/emotional abuse, minor bad language, references to character death, drug use, and familial death. All of the usual feel-good content of Collins' Hunger Games world!
Wordcount: 4,785

And I recommend, hmm... for Katniss/Peeta, I recommend these:

Geothermal by antistar_e

Their Last Night of Love: A Very Special Verity Presentation by Yahtzee

After by masenvixen

Favor Fire by strippedxbeauty

The End is the Beginning by spanglemaker9

Balanced on this Thread by spamdilemma

To be honest, I read and enjoy more Finnick-centric fic than Katniss/Peeta, though.

Thanks for reading! :)

Thank's so much, off to read them right now...
I'm kind of a Twific's reader only (with a few exceptions) so you got me when I saw spanglemaker9 and masenvixen's names
Also I've checked out your master list so I hope to see more from you

I must confess I was thrilled to see you had updated, I really enjoy your work! It's an interesting piece, and I like how the longing and sense of betrayal (and his need to prove himself) is running through it. The portion with Bristel was one of my favorites, and this line:
In the morning, he would be Peeta Mellark, the first Victor to win happiness.
oh, baby

Oh, wow, thank you so much! I do try to update every couple of days, but I guess it's not always in THG fandom -- it's probably tied for my favorite right now, though. :) I love that you picked up on Peeta's desire to prove himself; writing realistic male thought process/motivations is a struggle for me, so I'm glad that came through!

Thank you for reading! ♥

Oh my, my bleeding heart. That was gorgeous in a love/hate way bb. I mean gosh, so much angst but the prose was wonderful. :)

Saw your rec list in comments, gonna go check it out now.

Thank you so much! I'm really flattered that you've taken the time to read and comment everything. :)

Interesting! I really enjoyed this. So dark and oddly sweet. Very nicely done.

Thank you so much!

First, thank you so much for writing & sharing this fic. ♥

Wow. This fic was utterly superb. It is so rare when a fic compels me to love Peeta, and I've got to admit I've never thought of him this way.

Also, I adore the fact that this was basically a non-canon fic. (Because I love non-canon.) You included one of my favorite pairings - Peeta/Delly - which made the fangirl in me incessantly happy.

And this line,
For at least a week, every day that she descended into the mines with Gale Hawthorne, she would feel the dull sting of those bruises inside her legs. Remnants of Peeta Mellark.
...well, the entire bit with Bristel was incredible. It had hints of revenge, although it was sort of...cleansing for Peeta, too, I'd say.

Again, thanks. :)

Thank you for reading and leaving such a thoughtful comment!

I actually meant for this to be a canon fic, since we really don't know how Peeta spent his time between THG and their reunion in the snow in CF, and it's always struck me as odd that Peeta comments that Katniss is "so pure." ORLY, Peeta?

I like Peeta/Delly, too! I always think it's sad that one of the major reasons I perceive fandom not including her is because she's written to be less attractive. Her connection with Peeta is a wonderful addition to Mockingjay and shouldn't be overlooked! :)

And YES, you totally got where I was going with the Bristel section 100% -- thank you!! :D

Oh, wow, this is just gorgeous. I don't normally read Hunger Games fanfic, as something about it squicks me, but I have to say, I'm really glad I read this one. It's just so gorgeous and touching and it's lovely to see from Peeta's perspective once, what he might have been doing with his time while he was trying not to wait for Katniss. Just wonderful.

Well, thank you so much for reading! I'm very glad you liked it! And I totally understand THG fic being squicky -- the point of the series is so far beyond a romance that it can he hard to set aside all of the brutality and see any sexuality or romance in the characters (besides Finnick, who is beautiful amazing beauty forever). :P

I think you're right about that - the characters are presented so far off from sexual or romantic that it's hard to see them in another role (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF FINNICK OBVS OM NOM NOM) but you've done a great job of managing to turn that around. A+.

Lovely story! There's a tiny mistake, and you might have done it on purpose but-
He was gentle – his only kill an accident
Peeta killed the girl who lit the fire also. He was with the Careers and went back to finish her off. It's funny how easily people forget that. I almost think Collins wants us to.

But like I said, this isn't fic isn't canon and it might've been one of the many things you changed.

I look forward to your next HG fic!

Rue? Peeta wasn't there, Marvel was alone when Rue was killed, Peeta was already in the stream, having been stabbed by Cato after the trackerjackers were dropped by Katniss because he thought Katniss and Peeta were working together (which, they sort of were, but not really).

But you ARE right that I left out one of Peeta's kills -- Brutus, in the Quell, which happens off-page and which I've always found OOC, so I left it out.

Thanks for reading!

No. It happens at the end of chapter 11/beginning of chapter 12 in The Hunger Games.

"We're wasting time! I'll go finish her and let's move on!"
I almost fall out of the tree. The voice belongs to Peeta.

and then:

The sound of Peeta returning silences them.
"Was she dead?" asks the boy from District 2.
"No. But she is now," says Peeta. Just then, the cannon fires. "Ready to move on?"

I only bring this up because it's interesting how the reader forgets it. I rarely see it mentioned in fic. It does feel OOC from the Peeta we come to know later.

That wouldn't be one of his attributed "kills," though -- his only attributed kill in the 74th game, meaning the only one that Peeta actually caused the death of, was Foxface. He witnessed like, eleven Career kills while he's with the pack (GD3, BD4, BD5, GD6, BD6, GD7, BD7, BD8, GD9, BD9, GD10), but he didn't deliver any of the death blows, so they aren't considered "his" kills. SC has confirmed that his only kill in the 74th is Foxface and his only kill in the 75th is Brutus. Maybe SC forgot about it herself if Peeta really did "finish her off"?

I more assumed that whoever it was, he just waited with her to make sure that she did die from her wounds and not suffer long. There are a few things that Peeta does off-screen or offhandedly in the books that don't fit with the rest of his characterization, and they always feel to me like they were left in from previous drafts, or something, when Peeta was a very different character.

Why so anon, Anon?

Even as a Katniss/Peeta shipper, I love what you do here... and your inspiration for it--Peeta's remark about Katniss being "so pure"--the interpretation is valid. Sure, he could've been referring to her naivety, but THIS is so much more interesting to read. There's so much that Katniss missed in the time that she avoids Peeta, and there's so much that can be explored about his mind and his whereabouts. Even though Sad Peeta Angsty Times kill me, your words and details made it bearable and oddly beautiful.

Edited at 2011-03-06 12:13 pm (UTC)

Thank you so much! I got the idea talking to badguys when we were doing our hourly daily comparison of Peeta and Finnick, LOL. :P I'm glad that the tone that I intended came across in this piece!

For at least a week, every day that she descended into the mines with Gale Hawthorne, she would feel the dull sting of those bruises inside her legs. Remnants of Peeta Mellark.
Oh, the green eyed monster is at work in his mind, isn't it? I love how you made this story as much about the rivalry between Gale and Peeta as it is about Peeta and the women who are not Katniss. Very clever. I like it a lot.

[...]much about the rivalry between Gale and Peeta as it is about Peeta and the women who are not Katniss.

I'm so glad that came across! Thank you for noticing, and thank you for reading and commenting! :)

very beautiful, not to mention powerful. Normally I stick to my head!canon where Katniss was Peeta's first, but you write this so brilliantly.

Thank you so much! I generally think that Peeta was Katniss' first, but that comment about pure in CF just intrigues me so much...

Look at you! Keeping me up reading late into the night when I really should have been asleep a long time ago. Another amazing and so well written fic. <3

Thank you so much! ♥

This is great as always. Wonderful job!

I can't even understand how I got to be so late responding to this, but: Thank you!

Stop toying with my emotions! And by toying I mean, stop making me want to curl up in the fetal position and WEEP because of how much he lies to himself and how much the girls lie to themselves, hoping that they can be the one for him and knowing it's impossible. Breaking my heart, here.

I can't even understand how I got to be so late responding to this, but: Thank you!

Woah that was intense but in a good way! I didn't know I could even think of Peeta in such a mature way. Impressive.

I know Peeta is not that sweet as he looks, but this is very different from my headcanon!Peeta. Still a good read and it's interesting to know how others perceive him.