#All I do is YAP

[epikhightechnology]

Pete for @lu-sn 🖤

[maruyaaya]

talking about my neoptolemus/telemachus wip bc idk how to shut the fuck up!!!

SO the dynamic between neoptolemus and telemachus in my wip is essentially that neoptolemus is in love with telemachus from their first meeting, but he’s convinced that telemachus is too good for him and that he destroys everything he touches so he masks that with cruelty and pretends that he hates telemachus. telemachus is at first, drawn to neo and really likes him, but then neo starts being cruel in his attempts to push telemachus away and that gets telemachus to genuinely hate neo. it’s like a one-sided enemies to lovers. neo wants really badly to hate telemachus, but he can’t find it in him to not love this boy who he thinks shines like the sun. telemachus, on the other hand, just hates neo and he blames neo for ruining this friendship that they could have had.

their relationship basically flips back and forth between neo saying some unintentionally soft shit and when telemachus is like “what” neo just immediately says “but you’re also a weak dumbass so. fuck you.” neo is such a girlfailure in this fic he doesn’t know how to handle emotions AT ALL. he’s grown very special to me in the course of writing this fic which is very funny bc prior to starting this fic, i actually did not care for neo in the slightest before i started writing this fic. i only cared abt him as an extension to achilles bc achilles is my fav greek mythology figure ever. THEN AGAINST ALL ODDS, neo charmed me while writing this fic. like these are some tweets from my priv twt where you can see me progress from not caring at all abt neo to seeing him as my little babygirl son

so yes, i was charmed by my socially awkward son neoptolemus. he’s such a little freak. my favourite headcanon is that maybe in another less angsty fic than the one i’m writing rn, neo wants to flirt with telemachus and bc he’s emotionally inept like his father, he decides the best way to do that is to ask telemachus to spar with him and bc he hates losing, he goes all out and beats telemachus up. it’s like

neo, internally, after punching telemachus in the face: yes, our courtship is progressing magnificently

telemachus, clutching his bloody nose, trying to figure out why neo hates him:

LIKE THEYRE SO FUNNY TO ME!! i love them sm.

but anyways back to the specifics of my fic. they don’t get to be quite as silly in my fic. essentially what happens is that neo hears of odysseus returning to ithaca and decides to visit. there, he meets telemachus and is immediately charmed because he’s such a little loser. telemachus invites neo back to the palace for dinner and neo ends up getting in an argument with odysseus that ends with him going “I WILL TRAIN TELEMACHUS.” and odysseus does not want that to happen so ofc, telemachus says he wants neo to train him.

and the plotline is basically neo and telemachus’ relationship progressing as neo trains telemachus. it’s full of a lot of really sexually charged sparring and angry arguments.

some of you may be wondering why i refer to neoptolemus as neoptolemus always and not pyrrhus even though pyrrhus is his original name. well in my head, pyrrhus is the name that he’s given at birth by deidamia and neoptolemus is the name he takes up when he goes to war because he feels like he’s become a different person. neo struggling between his two names is actually going to be quite a plot point in this fic

because this fic is just as much a character study of neoptolemus as it is a ship fic between neo and telemachus. i spend a lot of time exploring his relationship with his parents and also his relationship with odysseus. it’s neo’s desire to piss off odysseus in the first place that gets him to stay in ithaca with telemachus. i really want to spend a lot of time exploring neo as a character bc so often, people write him as just being needlessly cruel, but i feel like it’s important to remember that he was just a kid when he was brought into war. he has this legacy from achilles that he needs to live up to, but he’s never even met achilles and how are you supposed to live up to the legacy of the greatest of the greeks? how would it ever be possible to make someone like achilles proud? neo’s grappling with his self-worth and identity a lot during this fic.

so far this fic is about 22k words and it’s very special to me. in the vision i’ve created in my head, we’re about 1/4 done but i make no promises because you all know me and how awful i am at sticking to the word counts that i imagine. it could be much shorter, it could be much longer. i don’t make plans. i just sit down in front of my google docs and bleed.

i’ve also been making plans for a little modern au neo/telemachus fic BECAUSEEE i really want to write that little neo and achilles exchange that i mentioned in my last post abt neomachus (teleneo? idk what their ship name is but i like calling them neomachus). my vice is creating wips and never finishing them tho so idk when (or if) i’ll write that modern au.

i guess i’ll end this little infodump off with some fun exchanges between neo and telemachus that i really like in this fic. they’re just so special to me <3

i will absolutely talk abt this fic more in the future as i continue writing bc im so obsessed with it rn. i will do my best to finish it asap but every time i think more about it, it gets longer.

(ALSO the title of the fic is “someday i know you’ll come to your senses” which comes from the song senses by mico who is, yes, the guy who plays telemachus in epic the musical. what can i say? i like it when things come full circle (it’s also a really fucking good song. everyone stream internet hometown hero by mico))

(none of these excerpts are edited or anything btw. if there are any typos please keep that to yourself or i might die of embarrassment)

[ruwune]

🗣️

[little-de-vil]

hello again! do you mind going more in depth about the cutters and keepers (and the ideological divide between them)? you’ve already mentioned that propaganda has affected the keepers more- is that a purposeful thing done by the captiol? or something perpetuated by the keeper community themselves? a mix of both?

Hello, dear! I'm going to write this with as much neutrality as possible because the lore I have created is long and extensive and I don't want that clouding this response.

I want to stick to as close to the canon as possible and my interpretation of the canon without having what I created leech through [especially since it tends to get jumbled in my head].

Get ready for another long one, Backpacks!

I have always believed that post-Dark Days there has to be that separation between trade and industry, especially in a district that then has two principle industries. Prior to the Dark Days, there was much more community between the trades-folk of 2, everything was very unified and friendly to an extent, which is why Katniss mentioning the first rebellion and the Victor tributes holding has as a sign of unity between the districts mirrors that community and solidarity (CF, 258).

But war changes things in unbelievable ways. There were those who remained loyal to the Capitol of course, by way of taking their names that have Greco-Roman origins (Strabo, Sejanus, Cato, Brutus, Enobaria), and then there were those who remained loyal to their people and their trade, who saw the military industry as a disruption to their work and community and traditions. They were more aware of their slavery once the military entered their lands and held a stronger Capitol favor.

Gale had a point when he said: "It's to the Capitol's advantage to have us divided amongst ourselves." (THG, 14)

District 2 is one know for its strength in not just its manufactured, propagandized kind, but prior to that when it was full of stonecutters, mountain-miners, blacksmiths, etc. and that strength is just as strong if not stronger after the Dark Days among the trades-folk. Where before there was a healthy delineation between the natural trades of the district, after the first rebellion that bond grew stronger and closer among the working-class because of the military invasion. There was less care put towards whether people mingled between a hewer or layer mason (historically hewer masons [those who cut the stone] was a far more contentious and lucrative job than a layer mason [those who set the stone]) and more of an effort to maintain their community as trades-folk in the face of an oppressive military who wanted nothing to do with them.

So the clear divide between the two industries was done by the Cutters in an effort to steer clear of both becoming a part of the propaganda (in both industry and Games-realted) and siding with the new invaders. There was a high likelihood of ostracization among the Cutter community to those who became Peacekeepers once it was exclusive to 2—prior to the first rebellion, I think it was seen more like how Plutarch had explained it "[as] a way for their people to escape poverty and a life in the quarries. They're raised with a warrior mind-set." (MJ, 83). I do see that last sentence as being more appropriate post-Dark Days, but that's neither here nor there.

As for the Keepers, they are an oppressive, invading force that were not welcomed by the natives of 2 at large, but they are also amazing at brushing that off if it meant more of a chance of wealth and success within the district (and within the Games too, of course). They knew that they were in better favor with the Capitol compared to the Cutters after the Dark Days and more so because they saw themselves as better than the Cutters, still District and not Capitol, but at least they weren't Cutters. And those who came from the Capitol to be stationed in 2? Well, they were all kinds of high and mighty! But as I said in a tik tok breaking down District 2 and my love for it: "the loyalty of District 2 has always been in something that has been Capitol made." (1:42-149).

In regards to the propaganda having more of an affect with the Keepers, I believe it is a mix of both and it has to be. The superiority complex of the Keepers (as in: those born and bred for it, not Cutters who join) comes from sustaining the Capitols favor but it is because of that propaganda that is so deeply imbedded into the district. Once they came into the picture as the new Capitol favorite, they didn't flaunt it so much as usurp it once various military installations came about, like The Nut, that did away with various Cutter work. Maintaining that "warrior mind-set" works with children who saw that as a thing of pride and not a thing to do out of poverty and upper class mobility. I still am having difficulty distinguishing both a timeline and an explanation for how the propaganda becomes successful within the Cutter community because I simply can't see it as A Thing™ without an intense feeling of betrayal to both your heritage and your people*, but again, that's a question for another day.

By Panem, I hope I answered this well! I feel like I kinda dropped the ball on the Keeper bit, but then again, I'm in the minority & don't give them much thought compared to everyone else.

*Please ask me if you want me to talk about Lyme in regards to that sentence because OH BOY IS THIS ALL ABOUT HER!

Also I almost started this with an excerpt from my silly OC fanfic but a ficlet of a scene, only to realize that my open statement completely contradicts that! Anyway, here it is at the end so you can't say I didn't do it in the actual answering of this ask!

Because if the years of watching District 2 pairs reach victory has taught her anything, it’s that those from 2 are loyal to their community. Of masonry or military. And that it’s the worst part of watching The Games in District 2, how much the animosity grows amongst the crowd at even the slightest difference in trade or birthplace is put to question the chance of triumph as one tribute falls.  But is the answer so simple? A mere difference in industry? In home? The Cutters: hewer and layer masons, quarry-folk, stone and crystal miners, blacksmiths. The Keepers: soldiers—the common grunt and almost unheard of 2 born general—, cadets in schools, Peacekeepers stationed throughout the country never to return for 20 years, the hundreds working in The Peak*. The southern desert folk and their blunt nature, intrenched in tradition that mirrors what it was before. The northern mountain people and their river sweet ways, creating new rituals after living so close to their invaded neighbors.  No, nothing as simple as that. Their mutual destruction is not an echo of past rivalries, but of present vows.

*What I think the natives of 2 call The Nut since that name came about by the 13 rebels, not the natives

[mana-jjk]

tw: referenced death

jjk spoilers !!

nothing too in-depth, but referenced to the light novel and recent manga chapters

i think the best way to understand toge comes from trying to write him.

canonly, he’s one of the characters we know the least about. we know the hint of a tragic backstory, but we’ve never seen it. we know he can’t speak without hurting someone, but we are never given a situation to reference or the parameters of such. we know he speaks in safe words, but we don’t know why he chose them or why he didn’t choose another way to communicate.

when i write toge, sometimes i pause in between onigiri ingredients and think, why doesn’t he just learn sign language? why doesn’t he just pick up a pad of paper and a pen? why doesn’t he ask anyone to explain the meaning of his safe words? isn’t there a better way to communicate than with words that won’t be taken seriously?

and that’s how the think piece spiral starts. if you go back in my account, you’ll see way too many posts dedicated to analyzing toge, picking his character apart, headcanons and canon divergences devoted to understanding him. it’s hard to understand a character that was created because of a joke.

maybe it’s a bit too much of thinking that makes you attach to toge, the boy who has such an innate aspect of his humanity designated to be a weapon. why doesn’t he find a different way? i think maybe, because for him, every other way calls for the acceptance of seeing this crucial part of himself as nothing more than a tool to harm others.

can it be that easy? to live your life in isolation, trapped in your own mind, with the knowledge that your existence burns the people around you simply by existing — can it be so easy to simply find another way?

maybe it would be easier if his voice wasn’t weaponized.

if he simply couldn’t speak rather than having the capacity redirected into channeled danger. Never having a choice, born into this role with seals marking his fate, marking the danger he poises to curses, complete strangers, the people he loves most. It would be easier if his voice came as an unintelligible whisper, easier if a simple phrase didn’t have the capacity to slaughter the people around him. easier if the capability to harm did not extend beyond his own intentions.

i think it hurts.

beyond the physical wounds, beyond the copper behind his teeth and the taste of cherry cough syrup on his tongue. i think it hurts him to know that the only time his voice is ever heard is when it causes pain.

it’s like never raising your hand unless to hurt someone else. it’s there, you can feel it there even as everyone else tries not to see it. there’s bad connotations with that hand. because if you raise it, everyone knows that someone will be hurt. they try not to see it, yet simultaneously it’s all they seem to see. bloody hand, bruised knuckles, the evidence of your cruelty. if you want them to be afraid, maybe you relish in the obedience. but obedience is not respect, it is not love, it is a base understanding of the capability of your inhumanity. for someone like toge, that bloody hand has been innate since the moment he came into the world. bloody, bloody hand with danger far beyond the stature of such a small child.

i think with the elders, they see his voice as that bloody hand. he opens his mouth and there is terror without uttering a word. his existence is a stark reminder of his capability, even if he never raised a hand, not on purpose. it doesn’t matter. with a whisper he can explode living beings, twist limbs until they’re crushed beyond recognition, steal life within a second, before anyone could realize what is wrong.

snake in the grass without a warning rattle. less than a bite, less than the coiled danger, less than the venom secreted fangs. cursed speech users are an invasive species within the jujutsu world. that’s why they were managed. how were they managed? outlaws or invasive, dangerous or venomous, to die out or kill on sight. bloody, bloody hand, hissing, hissing rattle.

that’s why, i think he insists on speaking, even if no one would ever understand him.

the elders may never trust him, but for the people he cares about, there has never been an ingrained fear of his voice. because when he opens his mouth, they don’t focus on the sigils marring his tongue. they don’t flinch when he speaks. they are surprised when he uses his abilities. they are surprised when the boy who speaks in silly ingredients can completely pulverize a cursed spirit. they are surprised not at his humanity, but what he can do in spite of it.

when yuuta was afraid of him, it wasn’t in fear of what a single vibrating note from his voice might cause. raised hands, perceived irritation, a shadowed expression. never his voice.

even when he exploded up to hundreds of spirits at once, with one singular word. never fear, only awe, only interest, only hopes to understand him in a way that the self-inflicted barriers tried to deny them both.

i think in this case, yuuta is much the same.

if he knew that being around people, being around girls or rowdy classmates especially, was dangerous because of rika, why didn’t he stay away? if he knew, why did he even consider being around maki? because that meant accepting that his entire existence would forever be limited to the harm that befalls others. how do you accept yourself as a cause and effect? a calamity in skin and bone, blood red inside and out.

so he found other ways. please don’t touch me, please and thank you. i won’t speak as long as you tolerate being around me. manipulate the situation, manipulate the cursed remnants of a little girl until she thinks the way she needs to. the way you need her to. for the safety of those around you, even though you know there’s another way, a simpler way.

don’t speak, don’t be.

what’s left of them? how much do you sacrifice if only to not be alone?

so toge speaks to empty ears, to condescending eyes, to upturned noses who refuse to comprehend beyond the harm he may poise. to ignorant bystanders, who will never know the potential vibrating under his skin, waiting with snapping jaws at the first hint of intention. starry eyed children who latch on to the secret language, with sticky fingers and pure intention. confused tourists who try to follow along, who unintentionally give much needed attention. wary peers who hear of his technique long before they hear of him, who see the danger long before they see him.

he exists to contradict, to take the reputation speared upon him and turn the tables with bloody hands that all eyes only seem to focus on. for these reasons, he turns to intentions, turns to kindness that can be conveyed much farther than words.

be kind, be oh so kind, be so kind that you never have to speak a word.

sacrifice your blood and sacrifice your time, sacrifice as much as you can if only to be understood. a crying baby who cannot begin to register the harm of their shrill cries, a marked child trying to convey the words they were never taught, a one-armed teenager laying down what’s left of their life.

don’t kill him, he told nobara, sacrificing his self-imposed rules for a man who knew the weakness of his technique. because he couldn’t stand the idea that she would have blood on her hands. sacrifice a little more if only to convey how much you care.

because the tragedy of toge is that every word he says has the potential to become a dangerous reality. because he cannot warn others, he becomes their shield. because he cannot vocalize how much he cares, he becomes what they need most. because he cannot tell them who he is, he has to sacrifice everything to show them.

he was never going to let yuuta fight alone. because the beauty of yuuta is that he was always afraid for the wrong reasons. afraid of toge not because of his capability to be a weapon, but because he was afraid that he hated him.

can you imagine? every moment of your tired existence, trying to prove yourself as anything more than your bloody hands. to have someone not afraid of your blood crusted fingertips and split knuckles, but of your capacity to tolerate a walking cataclysm.

yuuta is so saturated in blood and despair that he cannot even begin to fathom caring about bloody hands. of course he sees them, sees them in the potential they hold, in the pain they’ve inflicted, yet also endured. holds them in his own like they’re delicate, sees the splits and scars and bruises, not as evidence of his capability, but in his durability. to be treated as breakable with such potential to shatter the world around him.

when i write toge, i always find myself in this train of thought. i think that’s why i love yuuta so much, i love how much he loves, even if it means the world burns.

on a happier note, i’ve been binging in nostalgia with the new fairy tail anime coming out !! i literally rewatched all 328 episodes lol it was one of my first anime i watched, and even if it’s a 180 from jjk, i’m of course thinking of crossover au’s because lol just look at me. i think i have a million au ideas and 27 posts in the draft <3

[robo-boy]

my friends have got to be tired of me by now😭😭

[cheesysoup-arlo]

My stepdad said I “talk too much” welp you know what my brain said to that

Yeah immediately started singing this in my head lmao

[onlyangelicc]

hi cuties, this isnt one of my normal uploads but i need to yap to someone about this

so for the past couple weeks ive been getting mike fasist edits on my fyp on tiktok and he's obviously very attractive, and i was scrolling youtube and found this video by my beloved, nicole raffiee, that was "a chronically online girl explains the challengers lore" (go give it a watch! i linked it for u :3)

so i watched it obviously and im literally already obsessed with it ANNNDDD the movie and i havent even watched it... (i need to watch it:3 im not sure if its only any of the streaming services we have though)

anyways thats all im OBSESSED !!

ps mike faist is my wbotm (white boy of the month)

- love, yours trulyyy, j u p i t e r !! ⭐️🪐

[bewitchedmold]

Fugo would get so unbelievably angry whenever Narancia Rick rolled him or Mista sent him that Josh Hutcherson meme it's actually hilarious

[sionnisaweirdperson]

Okta spamton yap time let's go

So just like jevil i really do think that the themes shown with spamton's story are really cool and well-exicuted. He's a very very cool side character who you actually have to get interested in to look into: which I love to bits. The desperation and fall from grace is also just wahhhhb wahhhh poor boy I need to give you a hug,, he lost everything and is at a point of no-turning back desperation until kris comes along. I often have little daydream thoughts that are purely self insert and self indulgent of "what if I took this trash raccoon of a man and let him in my house and took care of him" and it always makes me so SADDDD WAHHHHWHSHDJDBEJEJ going back to talking about the themes of spamton's battle and downfall OH MYGOD SPAM5OJ JSUT CAME ONF IN MY HEADPHOENS LETW GOOO THEY LNWO anyqyayd! NOWS YOUR VHANCE TO BE A BIG SHOT! I really like how he's just trying to manipulate Kris into them giving him their soul a lot of the time but at the end kris ends up HELPING them it's great did I mentionthat I we t absolutely insane when I figured out that you ARENT supposed to actually spare spamton in the battle TO spare him I started bawling my eyes out no joke but i also want to touch on a little idea of the man on the other side of the phone being like a fals3 idol character,, like he made spamton rise to power and spamton is now relying on him and then he just vanishes,, really shows why you can't really put your entire life in someone else's hands because it (most often ) ends in disas5er- thsi is like so interesting to me because lkek he's just a guy who needs help at the time that kris enters and like,,, I desperately want to puck him up and give him a hug,, I need to make sure he's okay poor glorbo.... poor boy let me METAL CRUSHER UNDERTALE OST IS SUCH A GOOD AONG THIS JUST CAME ON IN MY PKAYLIST ABSHJSBWBAHW anyways I digress but I DESPERATELY need to take care of spamton like poor guyyy yes I'll let you live in my house and eat my waffles like a fucked up cat WHY IS SO MUCH OF UNDERTALES OST FIRE AAAHHHHHHAHHAGSGSGDHSHSHSHS I'm actually going insane all of this was typed while in a waffle house btw if you xare I'm not eating anything I'm just sitting here going slightly feral over dumpster man,,, I would ve a big ahoy with him auhfbdhhh I want spamton as my fucked up cat and Sans as my bone head ahhb neighbor please let me phase into yhe world of deltarun I beg I plead I scream I cry please please eplease psl4as5 EHAHHSHSHDHWIWHWKAJSKWKQJ I love these guys so much,,, ouuugjhh brain worms wahshbdhrhsbsh oh god I almost refreshed and lost all of this anyways spamton yap over congrats if you made it this far

[hanakokyu]

it's honestly nothing. i can deal with it myself. / sanemi @zefahai

it'd been raining hard all day.   the mansion floor was a muddy mess,   but they'd given up on trying to keep it clean:   every time they mopped,   some poor soul would stumble in,   blood and dirt soaked,   and they'd have to do it all over again.   [ but kanae is happy to do it.   she'd mop the floors a million times if it meant a million people walked back the way they came. ]   that's never the case,   countless die,   but the flower hashira dreams of better days anyway. it moves quickly once they've settled into a routine, patching wounds and handing out food.

it was well into the day, and they hadn't seen a patient in hours, when he gets pushed through the butterfly estate doors. [ they could all hear him coming from the garden gates, kanae quick to put a voice together with a face she knows well. ] she makes quick work of it: he's seated in the great hall within minutes as she buzzes around to collect rolls of bandages and a sewing needle.

❝   i'm sure you can. many do.   ❞ a hum in afterthought. she grabs a small cutting blade, incase the bandage doesn't tear easy. her hands hover, steady and warm, tracing the edges of the wound. ❝   but you're here now, so there's no need. i promise i'll be quick, but ... we should get that stitched up, at least. pretty please?   ❞

@zefahai

[gio-cosmo]

Everytime I try to sit down and write a serious story outline I just start yapping

[kia-azki]

I believe in myself too much, I believe I could get a mansion (I am procrastinating on studying rn)

[not-a-bot-1234]

AS THE CEO AND CHAIRWOMAN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF YAPPING, I HEREBY DECLARE YOU A CERTIFIED YAPPER

[little-de-vil]

Hi! Sorry this took so long to get to you, but I hope my long-windedness makes up for it. Starting with your distinction of Cutters and Keepers… I find this really interesting and I had heard the terms thrown around on your blog a lot and I always was like “I should look into that” and then I didn’t because I’m a horribly forgetful person. BUT! I finally did, and I adore the way you’ve set up the structure of class divides in Two. After re-reading Mockingjay, where Katniss spends a few weeks in Two and lives with resistance fighters in mining communities in Two, I have always been interested in how the distinction between Peacekeepers in Two and the whole gladiator culture with the Careers and volunteering came to be. 

The line: “The southern desert folk and their blunt nature, entrenched in tradition that mirrors what it was before. The northern mountain people and their river sweet ways, creating new rituals after living so close to their invaded neighbors.” was just SO GOOD. And I really like how you managed to keep the aspects of pride prevalent in the culture of D2, but made sure to separate the pride of the Cutters and their cultural traditions from the pride of those more influenced by propaganda in D2. (Also… If you ever were to write on ao3, I would absolutely devour your fics. I’m still reading through Snowfall Upon Sophroniscus on Tumblr, so I may need to pick your brains on that once I finish, but I had to talk to you abt your amazing D2 lore first). 

Another quote as a segue: “The Keepers: soldiers—the common grunt and almost unheard of 2 born general.” This really struck me, especially because of the very obvious profiling shown in TBOSAS with the officer candidate test and Coriolanus saying that the other cadets can’t read so he had an advantage. Of course, one of D2’s primary industries is peacekeeping, but I can’t imagine the Capitol would be happy putting any district people in a place of power after the first rebellion. (Since I’m into D13, I think that they have officers and did before the dark days which kind of served as a warning to the Capitol not to have that happen again). 

Now onto the post about religion in Panem, and the concept of “Saying Your Stones”. I thought this was such a wonderful tradition, and again you have a real talent for creating meaningful (and canon, imo) cultural traditions. I’m interested in the fact that the practice changed after the war from something one did by themselves to a community focused event. It was in an effort to create more ties to the community, yes, but was there any other reason? Was it a form of cultural resistance? I’d also LOVE to know your thoughts on what those who moved from the Capitol to Two as officers thought about D2 cultural traditions and what their efforts were to suppress them!

Now, the FIRST SONG! You have truly rewired my brain here. It sounds very “traditional”, I’m not sure how else to say it. I guess what I mean is authentic. My favorite verse has got to be this one:

And in come new folk, bold and strong

No hammer or pickaxe

Just guns and armor, waving banners of country flag

Ain’t got no space to hold ‘em, but they make space themselves

Takin’ our homes, our pride, our love, our work

They don’t do much in mountain-land ‘sides work us to the bone

I think you hit the nail on the head when it came to the opinions of the Cutters on the new coming peacekeepers. I appreciate that you think there is a genuine physical divide between the Keepers and the Cutters, because I think that may be the only way that the Capitol could prevent riots and constant class tension between the industries. Also an excellent critique on the Capitol's imperialism. 

All in all, I am so glad I read your explanations regarding the development of the class divide in D2, because it is something I have been very interested in ever since I re-read Mockingjay. The work that you have put in here is very impressive, and very realistic when it came to the shift in attitude over time, and how a decent amount of children around the time of the 74th games are Cutters-By-Blood but became Keepers/volunteers/career tributes for upward social mobility. I am very interested to know, since you are a D2 historian, if you used any real-world historical examples to develop these ideas, and if so I would love to know what they were. 

I really really love your work! It is so interesting to see an entirely different take on the state I grew up in, as CO has definitely outgrown its mining/ranching originations. I’m always just happy to see different interpretations of Neo-North American culture represented in Panem, and you do a truly fantastic job representing that!

Writing this while watching TBOSAS was a religious experience. I know Sejanus always Said His Stones and Snow is not deserving of a Home Name. I’m going to respond to this by writing out the responses under certain segments so that it’s clear which part I’m talking about. This is also as always stupid long, so I'll just write it under the cut.

The line: “The southern desert folk and their blunt nature, entrenched in tradition that mirrors what it was before. The northern mountain people and their river sweet ways, creating new rituals after living so close to their invaded neighbors.” was just SO GOOD. And I really like how you managed to keep the aspects of pride prevalent in the culture of D2, but made sure to separate the pride of the Cutters and their cultural traditions from the pride of those more influenced by propaganda in D2. (Also… If you ever were to write on ao3, I would absolutely devour your fics. I’m still reading through Snowfall Upon Sophroniscus on Tumblr, so I may need to pick your brains on that once I finish, but I had to talk to you abt your amazing D2 lore first). 

I really like that you love that line! It was such a quick thing I put together, already knowing that I wanted a geographical cultural distinction but have that be the case because of the war. Those cultural personal markers (blunt v sweet) was already how I pictured those two, but I knew that I wanted their cultural traditions to differ in certain aspects because geography shapes culture. I was also sure that I wanted to separate the Cutters pride and the Keepers pride by being communal vs individualistic. To quote me (teehee): “Where the masons took pride in their work, the weapons manufacturers took pride in the Capitol's adoration.”

Another quote as a segue: “The Keepers: soldiers—the common grunt and almost unheard of 2 born general.” This really struck me, especially because of the very obvious profiling shown in TBOSAS with the officer candidate test and Coriolanus saying that the other cadets can’t read so he had an advantage. Of course, one of D2’s primary industries is peacekeeping, but I can’t imagine the Capitol would be happy putting any district people in a place of power after the first rebellion. (Since I’m into D13, I think that they have officers and did before the dark days which kind of served as a warning to the Capitol not to have that happen again). 

So I when I wrote this line, I was thinking of this in two aspects:

“Hope”

Proximity to power/whiteness under assimilation

 I put hope in quotes like that because it’s different to the one mentioned throughout the series. I see it as a false hope, where those of 2 who do have access to power have already had it from the start in some facet (ie: Born-and-Bred Keepers) v a Cutter who will never have that access unless they reject their culture and thus become an oppressor to gain power/wealth/security, etc. (for just reason or not). With that annexing of culture to gain that power, it further distances those Cutters from their community, with a mutual betrayal and that feeling of never fitting in with the other Keepers who will forever see them as less than.

Notice how I say “gain” and not “earn” because it’s always going to be something that is already accessible v something fought for, but ultimately pretty unreachable. Gain is closer linked to growth whereas earn is closer linked to achievement and winning, and while there is achievement in accessing the power that being a Keeper brings you, it will never been seen as deserved among either community. And community is essential to the people of 2. I’m not saying that to force this into my lore, we can see it clear as day in the first book with Cato and Clove.

I knew that I still wanted to have it be a possibility and even success of someone from 2 being in such a high position of power because of that hope, but I also knew that whoever it is, they’d probably be a white man. Having soldiers and some higher ups be people of color work because of the way the propaganda works, but having the higher positions of power still being held by white men still continues the idea of power=whiteness and a proximity to whiteness will always be seen as powerful.

Now onto the post about religion in Panem, and the concept of “Saying Your Stones”. I thought this was such a wonderful tradition, and again you have a real talent for creating meaningful (and canon, imo) cultural traditions. I’m interested in the fact that the practice changed after the war from something one did by themselves to a community focused event. It was in an effort to create more ties to the community, yes, but was there any other reason? Was it a form of cultural resistance? I’d also LOVE to know your thoughts on what those who moved from the Capitol to Two as officers thought about D2 cultural traditions and what their efforts were to suppress them!

I always knew that I wanted something to mark the change of culture that comes with war, particularly a war lost among those who have these cultural traditions. You’re right in it creating more ties to the community and that there were more reasons behind it. I highlight this a bit with the Sophro Trio and how with each new generation slowly looses their culture, an inversion of what is it by Katniss’ time. And it was always going to be a form of resistance because of the power of the community, the population of the community. There is no way to force them to stop completely, it will always find a way to survive. But The Capitol knows that, they know that by destroying both community and culture it will not make their slaves susceptible to whatever propaganda they inflict upon them. There needs to be hope, and culture and traditions bring that. It also was a way to make sure that only the tradition survives (not thrives!!!), but is understood and properly practiced. Which means that by having it be more openly practiced, it eventually leads to it being open to bastardization by the oppressors. It’s a vicious cycle.

With those Capitol officials who go to 2: yes, there is oppression of community in the power they hold, but there was more ridicule than an overall attempt to end the practices. I’d like to think of it as to how Snow thought of the bread tradition, as foolish and a waste of food. Those Capitol officers would see these hordes of people basically praying to rocks and think of them as fools with no self-identity, seeing how the Stones are seen as that person, where they are a marker of personhood and personality rather than who they “really are.”

Now, the FIRST SONG! You have truly rewired my brain here. It sounds very “traditional”, I’m not sure how else to say it. I guess what I mean is authentic. My favorite verse has got to be this one: And in come new folk, bold and strong No hammer or pickaxe Just guns and armor, waving banners of country flag Ain’t got no space to hold ‘em, but they make space themselves Takin’ our homes, our pride, our love, our work They don’t do much in mountain-land ‘sides work us to the bone I think you hit the nail on the head when it came to the opinions of the Cutters on the new coming peacekeepers. I appreciate that you think there is a genuine physical divide between the Keepers and the Cutters, because I think that may be the only way that the Capitol could prevent riots and constant class tension between the industries. Also an excellent critique on the Capitol's imperialism.

Fun fact: I almost cut that entire segment out completely! I originally was going to have it be from “keep our kin close at hand” to “make my people proud” up until the end with “someday when we are free” and have that be the end. But I realized that because I have my running theme of D2 songs being historical, I needed a verse to be more present and angry at the change in their district, in an effort to show how much has changed by the time it’s sung throughout the years! And I love this verse! There’s a part of me that wants there to a mixed of forced physical community among the Cutters and the Keepers to show how much of an invading presence they are and how it’s said in Mockingjay that many stonecutter working locations like the mine and quarries shifted into housing and training spaces for the Keepers. But another part of me knows that by keeping them separated would not only be consistent with othering each group against the other.

All in all, I am so glad I read your explanations regarding the development of the class divide in D2, because it is something I have been very interested in ever since I re-read Mockingjay. The work that you have put in here is very impressive, and very realistic when it came to the shift in attitude over time, and how a decent amount of children around the time of the 74th games are Cutters-By-Blood but became Keepers/volunteers/career tributes for upward social mobility. I am very interested to know, since you are a D2 historian, if you used any real-world historical examples to develop these ideas, and if so I would love to know what they were.

Here’s the thing. I have been thinking about this story for 11 years. It has been a part of my being for a very long time, regardless of me publicizing it. And because it has been with me for so long, I’ve definitely taken bits and pieces of my life and certain cultural aspects and imbedded it into the story as time has gone on. But it’s all really been a subconscious decision, I don’t realize I’ve done that until well after the fact (I do have a literal processing disorder, so that tracks). I can say that to my knowledge, I haven’t taken real historical examples and developed them into something. However, I have definitely taken certain cultural aspects of my life or my loved ones life with me and put that in. So like how Saying Your Stones has transferred from being individual to communal, I inverted that from my own personal life of having grown up in saying my late-night prayers with my grandparents to now only saying it on occasion. For Home Names, I think of that as how one of my Tia’s always gave us nicknames that have stuck the test of time and is used among family. Even the death tradition of The Rock, I can always attribute to tracing my grandfathers name on his tombstone when I went to go visit him on my second to last trip to El Salvador, and only returned 15 years later, last year! So no, I don’t base it in history unless it’s going to be some physical thing (like stone associations with onyx, for example), I base it on parts of my life that I’ve lost and don’t want to regain but remember.

[papayafiles]

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