hunger games AU theory

Originally saw a tiktok that said in the AU where Katniss didn't volunteer and Prim went into the games, Peeta's interview bomb would have become something along the lines of revealing that he and Prim are secret siblings and he will continue looking out for her. 

Of course they're NOT actually related but they do have a history since Katniss's mom and Peeta's dad have their backstory and the story holds up since Prim doesn't look like Katniss or her dad and so the story would be believable. It could also lead to the same rule change that allows the rest of the series to continue as is, so it really fits. Fits so well that I started thinking about the implications for the rest of the series.

I always thought it was possible that the drawings could have been rigged to have Prim specifically chosen, though I never believed it was to target Katniss. It doesn't make sense that way to me because they would have either picked her for the drawing in the first place OR they thought she would volunteer, which ruins their whole plan of showing that kids in the districts don't have family bonds so they wouldn't have wanted her to volunteer. 

However: if they chose Prim to pair with Rue they could have been anticipating to show that even the youngest district kids are willing to target each other, and they could have been wanting to have them fight each other to create a narrative of them being 'child savages'. So Prim going into the games would, in my mind, be inevitable of her pairing up with Rue. 

Peeta wouldn't team up with the careers in this AU and they would be inseparable the entire games. Instead of Peeta needing the lifesaving medicine, Prim would probably be injured in some way which puts pressure on the Capital to give Peeta the opportunity to save her, since the audience wouldn't want to see her die that way, and at the end when they take back the twist I think it will be Prim's idea for them to die together since obviously neither of them will kill each other. 

The things that would change afterwards is that I think Peeta and Katniss would have created an inseparable bond but they would still have to put on a show for the Capital. I don't think they would gain a lot of sympathy with those that think they're adjacently related. And since it's all a lie to begin with, Snow still has reasons to taunt and target the family. Katniss isn't pushed to the wayside here and would still be a key figure in all of this since she would be central for interviews and also be doing illegal things that could get them targeted (hunting). I haven't decided if the victors would go back in the quarter quell in this AU or not, maybe they will say that family of the victors, since the symbol of the rebellion in this AU is the sisterly bond not necessarily one of them.