#Snowfall Upon Sophroniscus

[little-de-vil]

As recompense for me taking forever to respond to @tumblingghosts, I offer you My Ficlet. This is my first time posting about my Silly OC Thoughts, I'm terrified so please be nice!

This takes place during the 73rd Hunger Games, the main characters in this fic are Cassia (Slip Name) "Harlow" (Home Name) Sophro, an 18 year old tribute reaped from District 2 and middle child to Vance (SN) "Hawk"(HN) Sophro, the Victor of the 44th Hunger Games and a historic one as the first of the Cutters, and Dardanius "Dani" Bollard, another 18 year old tribute from 2, but a Volunteer. He's originally from the south, but his family moved up north after a tragedy. He's what's called a Cutter by Blood, someone who still holds onto the Cutter traditions but works (or in this case, his father) as a Keeper. He's trained as a Career, whereas Cassia has been trained by various Victors, those from 2 and not. @thegreatmelodrama let me know if I did your baby Dani justice! She's also a Snow but that's a topic for another day!

Sand continues to trickle into the cave as the storm destroys the supplies at the nearby Cornucopia. What a rarity, for the whole lot of Career tributes to be cornered and beginning to starve. Starving softly, unlike the chronic harshness other district children are so used to. Like the pair from 3, who are tangled together in wires and sparks bleeding out from a corner most camera.

“Why can’t we just destroy each other?” Dardanius asks Harlow softly. 

The question throws her off and she’s been so focused on perfecting the nose of the stone version of her district partner that it takes a moment for his question to register. She is, however, certain that he’s broken his nose more than once.

Who is the “we”? The pair from 1? The lone boy tribute from 4? Certainly not the ones from 3, who no one can really tell why they’re still alive, let alone with the Pack.

Or does he mean himself and Harlow? Are they the “we”?

He must mean them. 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.

A small piece of granite crumbles under the light tap of her brother’s chisel, and she looks back to see that Dardanius’ stoney eyes match his own. “Because we both made promises that work against each other. You promised my brother that you’d protect me. And I promised my father that I wouldn’t become him. Those two don’t work well together.”

He nods, but his brow tightens in concentration, mind locked deep in thought. His voice is soft and filled with sadness or maybe remorse, unlike its usual deep, assured cadence, “So what will we do if it’s just us?”

She blinks, having not considered this point until this very moment. But something deep inside her quickly finds the answer, “I give you permission to kill me.” She says sternly, mirroring his typical tone.

That comment can’t be playing well with the audience. What sponsor would back a tribute so unwilling to see their own victory? Hasn’t the Capitol been so generous to give these poor tributes the opportunity to better their life? And her especially, who has grown up in the greatest Capitol family of them all her whole life? What joy comes from watching someone fight who will never want the crown?

But this must also be playing horrifically among the Cutters back home. Self-sacrifice isn’t a Keeper trait, but Cutters aren’t known to back down from a fight when it comes to dishonoring their people. By allowing even this possibility to happen, she’s just repeating the cycle of those loyal to the Capitol can claim victory, and those traitors are always bound to fall at their hands. 

But her father must be proud of her for lasting this long, for sticking with her partner, for still Saying her Stones? Was he proud of himself when he was in her position 29 years ago, or did that pride diminish once his partner crumbled in his arms and the trumpets of victory rang? She wonders if he will still be proud of his eldest daughter when she returns cold and lifeless, sprinkled with hard tact bread given to her by a joint sponsor of the Master Mason and Head Peacekeeper of 2, spread generously at the end by her partner. Or will he be filled with disdain and fury for defying his one wish to not become like him, like her cousin of the 66th, like her neighbors of the Village who practically raised her. Only time will tell, she supposes, to whose promise will be kept. Or if District 2 will have two tributes sprinkled with bread.

[tumblingghosts]

Super tiny thing. I adore that you not only reblog but tag Snowfall. It makes me feel so happy, but also oddly cared for, that you care about this literal over-a-decade-long-story I've had in my head so much so to share it with others. Not letting it collect dust on my blog as it often feels like. I don't know, I feel like I have so much and I do that sharing with it makes me scared to overwhelm everyone, but I also love it and feel the need to share it with the world. Thank you so much for caring about my little family🥹💖

of course! i am always in awe when people create OCs - you saw a story and then you crafted a new person with their own interests and culture and family inside that bigger story. all about what they look like, what they talk like, what they believe in, what they are against, who they love and hate, their aspirations. they've got an entire life and love and anguish and joy - everything!

that's just so cool to me 🤩

and thank you so much for sharing! <3

[little-de-vil]

A little gift for @persephoneprice and anyone else who gives a shit about my OCs. Behold: THEIR INSTAGRAMS! This changes DAILY, but I always have some form of consistency when it comes to each one. This wouldn't be possible without @caesarflickermans' Instagram template!

For Celeste, I focus on very front-facing pictures with a warm, creamy color palette. Nothing extreme!

For Vance, his is very geared towards his native District 2, with little to no posts related to the Capitol. That was intentional because of both his image as a Victor, but also because it's where he's most comfortable. All of the pictures of his kids are in nature, which isn't what they focus on in their own accounts, but is where they are most comfortable too (at least for the two older ones). The picture in the far left middle row is the exception to the rule with young Celeste (FC'ed by Anya Taylor-Joy) in her extravagant wedding dress.

For Wren, he goes by his mothers theme of very front facing pictures, but doesn't have the same organization. Very much a current moment/hodgepodge of whatever is going through his mind. I purposefully gave him the most recent picture (top far left) as one of a mountain in 2, which he posted after he found out that he and his family wouldn't be going home for the Harvest festival that year and wanted to give the people of the Capitol a glimpse of his home. I am also partial to the middle picture of the middle row since that's a picture of Swan House (Snow's Mansion) that I took the first time I visited there!

For Cassia, she doesn't post too often, only on special occasions (like her father's birthday) or when she's told to by her team (like that top far right picture showing off a dress she wore for the Victory Tour that she hated). I also wanted to give her hints of her romantic life with the middle video of her and her partner, Angus, another Victor from District 10 (I think I made him the 69th? Idk, he's still a huge WIP).

And last but not least, Marina Livia Snow! I just finished hers up yesterday and this was the most difficult one to do by far I’m still not entirely sure if I like it! I wanted for her to have this eternal image of youthfulness and innocence as she is a literal child, the most Capitol of the trio, and she's also Snow's favorite so double whammy! And as we all know, it is only the children in the Capitol who are allowed to maintain their innocence. I wanted hers to be very bright, very social and very materialistic (I think I succeeded in the latter in an earlier draft of it, but that's neither here nor there). I wanted hers to mirror her mothers the most in terms of content and color, as a proximity to whiteness.

I wanted their story highlights to all have a similar format, from parents to children.

For Celeste because she is always "on," I decided to start with her prep first before going into her family. The pictures she chose for them are equally beautiful and presentable. I also wanted to her to have a sense of ownership over them, hence "my" XYZ for everyone.

For Vance I had him start with "quarries/mountains/rivers/rocks" based off a Peacekeeping funeral song I wrote. As for his family, I made sure that Celeste was still a bit more Capitol as that is her area of comfort, and for his two eldest children to be out in 2, along with their district nicknames.

For Wren, I wanted there to be joy and laughter seeping out of the pictures of his family, as a ways to remind himself of those times [the last one is of his partner in District 7, more on him later].

For Cassia, I wanted the pictures of her parents to be very one-dimensional and distant since that's more or less how she feels about them post-Games. Another silly picture for Wren, of course, and another hint to her partner, who the people nicknamed "The Butcher." I also wanted to have a Pre-and-Post story highlight for her to have everyone be that much more aware of the shift in public image after the Games.

And finally, for Marina's story highlights of her family, I wanted them to be very casual, with Celeste's seeming as such as it's still heavily manufactured for this sense of casualness (think "Beauty Base Zero").

[little-de-vil]

Because of my Lathe post, I'm reminded of the collage my girlfriend made of 27 (what we call them, their ship name). Her reasoning behind certain pictures:

"thought the capitol aspects would contrast so interestingly against the natural parts of 27. tension is increased to the max!!!! and the chess pics that are sidelined but still There but also the chess pics that are in the Background. moves and countermoves. contrast w the natural love and playfulness of 27. tensionnnnnnnn"

"but also: the Library. all those talks w snow. TENSION. to go back Home. and be free. instead of Pretending.

"also: POETRY AND ANARCHISM BUT ALSO: the meadows and nature surrounding the academy backpack"

"also: the wood(s) surrounding the pics of the capitol’s opulence and snow’s mansion. how many trees were split to contribute to his Tyranny. how much of their freedom was sacrificed for snow’s reign"

"ALSO: the pic at the top where they’re free on the hill. versus right next to it where they’re using physical contact as a means for grounding each other while in the capitol"

MY GIRLFRIEND IS SO SMART AND TALENTED, I LOVE HER SO MUCH!!!!

[little-de-vil]

Another D2 Tradition: Onyx

Para @julietasgf, tu tradición favorito!

This is another part of creating lore that comes from research. I want everything that I make to be based in realism, to seem as though it could be practiced in our world. So when researching Colorado quarries I ended up on onyx, which is historically mined pretty predominately enough in the area. And with every new stone I encounter, I always go through whatever meaning is usually associated with it.

For onyx, that's a talisman used predominantly for labor and delivery for a smooth and easy birth. (I can already hear ya'll typing "but what about unakite?" Shut up, I'll get to that!) I wanted to continue that lore for that stone in 2, so here's the tradition: at an announcement of pregnancy, women are given onyx; rough (not tumbled) onyx by the community (many people will have them on hand as they're prevalent to the area and hand them to pregnant women), representing the ultimate difficulty of pregnancy. Many expected parents in the district would be so overwhelmed with the amount of onyx they'd be given that they would set a small basket outside their home for people to come by and place their stones in. The closer to the due date comes, she’s given smoother onyx until the baby comes, when she’s presented with final fully smooth stone.

The future parents would hold onto the first stone of each month in a separate, smaller bowl. At the Home Name ceremony, the baby is given the final, fully tumbled one, which is usually turned into a bracelet for the child to wear for always, reminding them of their life, how difficult and painful and sharp it is, and will ultimately become smooth and simple. Many Cutter kids end up having that as their token in the arena, if they don't take a small satchel of their families stones, that is.

If a pregnancy and subsequent labor was particularly difficult, it’s pretty common to have that child be named Onyx, Home Name or not.

As for unakite, I'm leaning more towards it as a grounding, healing stone. It's usually placed upon the sick or injured as a healing talisman on either the area affected or some families put it on the meridian lines.

Onyx is a labor talisman, to help mothers throughout pregnancy, to remind them of the difficulty and beauty of creating life. Unakite is a healing talisman, to aid those throughout any painful journey, to remind them all that what is being done can and will end. The two are not mutually exclusive. Onyx gives life, unakite sustains it.

[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.

[little-de-vil]

Saying Your Stones

The concept of religion is nonexistent in Panem, so much so that when Katniss sees cherubs in the frescoed walls of District 11, she calls them “fat children with wings.” Religious Christian imagery that Katniss notices is seen as only decoration because religion of any sort is so against the norm. Only cultural, district related traditions.

"Designs of fruit and flowers are carved into the molding and small, fat children with wings look down at us from every angle." (CF, 64) 

The concept of prayer is reduced to hope or telepathic wishes of safety, like Finnick when Annie is in The Capitol. No gods of any kind, but not pure hopelessness. There is community without religion in Panem; with the struggle of survival and the knowledge of the district trade. The need to live for others betterment rather than individualistic whims. 

Enter an old tradition of the Cutters. As old as their district, and just as tangible as their older traditions. It’s not a prayer in the actual sense of asking some higher power to intervene in for the betterment of one or another’s life, but a symbolic journey of growth tied to their birthstones.

Each stone has some sort of symbolic significance tied to that persons birth month, and is believed to be how they act or who they will become. Say someone’s birthstone is travertine, a stone that signifies confidence, stability and durability. If that person is generally shy and unsure in their way of life, others around them will say that they will slowly become like their stone. 

Birthstones are defined as markers of character for the community, but not stereotypes because they know that stones have the propensity for change depending on the force given to it. Too little and nothing changes, much and they crumble to dust. But there’s always an opportunity for change, to become one’s true self.

The tradition itself is — in our eyes — like a late night prayer. Each night, the birthstone is taken in their hands and the symbolic meaning of the stone is murmured in continuum for however long the person wishes, with a certain meaning repeated more than the others as a wish for what they hope to become. 

This tradition has shifted from being done in private at one’s own time to a family evening ritual where the whole family gathers and says their words over and over, regardless of the other people and their “conflicting” stones. This change was made shortly after the war in an effort to not only continue the traditions, but to make it a ritual within the family and tie it to their community.

Every night, the oldest Sophro child takes his travertine stone that lives on his nightstand and murmurs “confidence” until his voice nearly gives out. The middle Sophro child has only recently returned to the tradition after her Games, realizing how much she has become like her own stone, carnelian. The youngest Sophro child has a faint idea of the tradition, but has very rarely done it herself since her family hasn’t openly practiced it in years. Nonetheless, she still takes her stone, a shinning topaz like her Home Name and wishes not for who she will become, but for what she would like to impart onto her family. 

Hawk Sophro has not practiced Saying his Stone since his daughter won her Games. He still keeps his marble stone on his nightstand, spinning it in his palm and asking for the strength of his stone. 

I also wanted to continue this idea of the culture becoming weaker with each new generation becoming more and more assimilated to Capitol Culture. Madon has continually been doing that tradition, Harlow has recently returned to it after a traumatic event like The Games (in a sort of “She found religion” kind of thing) & Topaz has had very little interaction with it, so much so that when she goes back to it, she misunderstands the purpose and asks for the best for others, not herself.

[little-de-vil]

This epiphany came to be as I was listening to Grace Yurchuk, the creator of her own Caesar musical, based off of Shakespeare's play! Specifically her songs of Brutus praying to his father, great stuff!

And here's how I think I'd open Snowfall (subject to change, of course)

When he was a boy, about 10, he joined his father in a mine. Inspecting, cutting and carving stone, a hewer job. He came home coughing up silica and his mother did what any Cutter would do in times of illness: she placed unakite all around him, one on his forehead, a single stone just below his clavicles, a pair on his upper arms, and a handful of much smaller stones on his inner wrists.

Now, he is six years more still a boy, but he is cut up and carved from knives and not chisels. He doesn't wake with unakite on his meridian lines but with tubes and wires leeching out of him.

And he can't help but notice the eyes of that cold young woman he remembered from his time in the city, before the arena, stabbing into his very being not with any kind of warmth or care, but intrigue. And he is intrigued by her as well.

[little-de-vil]

I know I focus a lot of my Silly OC Thoughts on The Trio, but with SOTR I may put more of an effort to produce pieces on Vance's Post-Games perception out of pure spite. If anyone wants to join my writers room (looking at you, @tumblingghosts), let me know!

[little-de-vil]

The First Song (Lyrics and Explanation, oral and written)

The First Song

We come down from mountain-land Down to quarries, past the pine We swim by the river side and skip rocks from mountain mines We take the crystals and the stones Our lovers and loved ones, we’re not alone Us who live on top of good ‘ol mountain-land We hear word from down below, whispers of the life  The ones they lead, the ones who leave to desert, southern life We know not what will ‘come to them, but pray that all is well For foreign land is close at hand with war not endin’ well Yet some still stay in mountain-land, with miners and quarrymen And the old smith takes their men and wreaths it ‘round our land We climb into caves and mines And stand on quarry flats And keep our kin close at hand on good ‘ol mountain-land 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 And push and shove their posca down our throats But I ain’t ever had a taste for the stuff Filled with poison to the brim of every cup No, I ain’t licking no boot or bowin’ down All I’m gon’ do is make my people proud Cut my rocks, mine my stones, hammer and anvil down My love to you, sweet mountain-land for all you’ve done for me I hope to pay it back someday, someday when we are free

I can’t remember how I came about writing this, I just know that I wanted a song that existed after the Dark Days right at the cusp of the Peacekeepers entering. I wanted it to be something that reads as if it’s being written throughout moments of time. The first part is closer to a pre-Dark Day sort of image where there is more freedom among the people and are openly practicing their culture. The second part is after the Dark Days, and the people are noticing the changes that are happening within their community and people are fleeing their native land because of that. For the third part I really wanted to have it be more present and more angry, and not as distant like the other verses with a firsthand view of the Peacekeepers coming in as an oppressive force and butchering their culture and their people. The last part, I wanted it to be more hopeful, but it is ultimately the most treasonous line out of the entire song, which is why it is usually hummed during this pre-harvest tradition and not sung. I wanted the locations to be important culturally, regardless of the song. I keep thinking of this post by @julietasgf where mountains are sacred, respected places for both the living and the dead (hence the ofrendas I mentioned in this post).

[little-de-vil]

Brave Little Solider (Song)

A little gift for @mr-nauseam, a song I wrote about Keeper kids who die too young. I purposefully opened with various locations/monuments important to the Cutters as a way for the Keepers to pay respect the origins of the district, to mark a form of unity between the two groups even if that isn't always the case between them usually, but tragedy and death brings people together.

Lyrics below:

Quarries and mountains Rivers and rocks Sawyers and soldiers too We’ve all earned our keep to live on this land And make it a beauty, too No more dust ‘lest your named No more ruins ‘lest you’re waste And then, you’ll be fed ‘til you’re fat Full of bread from your friends And sword in your hand from family who Gave you your life to be that Brave little solider running around Keeping us all from harm Running ‘round quarries and mountains and rocks With guns and a face tough as The rocks the your cutter friends cut And here you are Sword in hand Bread all in your locks You grew from the toughest of keepers there are And you’re still as hard as The rocks that your cutter friends cut The ones in the quarries and mountains, so big and so strong The ones by the rivers, so soft and sweet Just like you, our brave little solider who Kept us from all harm

[little-de-vil]

19, 20, & 22 for dealers choice!

Babe, this took me so long so I really hope you like it!🥺🥺🥺

From this ask game:

19. How do they silently/subtly express their love for each other? I’ll be talking about both The Happy Couple (Celeste and Vance) and 27 (Madon and Lathe Sheraton) I have a thing to S last names, I guess, his partner from 7. I wanted to differentiate they way each couple expresses their physical love not just because they are their own couple, but because of their circumstances and the way they move about the world. For Celeste and Vance, I wanted their relationship to be around consent. When Celeste first saw Vance after he won, she asked if she could take his hand; from then on, I realized that their love comes from consent and autonomy, especially with Vance! To quote my girlfriend 3 times when I first told her this: “like the idea of acknowledging that u will never fully know another person’s comfort levels within a specific moment is so real! and genuine and humble!!!!” / “and Lest asking that question is such a lovely question bc it’s telling the other person: i have your best intentions in mind and this is not a solely self-serving, righteous act i’m going to do by offering comfort. and acknowledging that they’re going to do what’s best for the other person.” / “BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCEEEEE (of consent). AND NEVER MAKE IT SEEM LIKE A HASSLE. ITS HOW THEY SHOW LOVE!!!” I really just wanted them to be open about how and when they are confutable with showing their love. As for 27, they are the opposite side of the spectrum depending on their location! If they’re in 7, they are not as open with their physical affection because they don’t really need to be, they don’t have to prove their love. Not to say that the Happy Couple needs to prove theirs, but it’s different for the boys. They aren’t watched the same way they are if they had met in the Capitol, it’s honest, not voyeristic. They’re usually apart, not physically close, but they treasure quiet moments together, whether it be working side by side at Lathe’s family shop or just in the woods, a few yards apart, taking in the beauty. But when they’re in the Capitol it’s a whole different ball game! They are not overly affectionate, but they can seem to overcompensate their love by being very physical.  Wren is so antithetical to his parents love. He's so aware of him and his partners body and how their love is so open and unasked; so fully known by both parties. To once again quote my girlfriend, “at some stage in a relationship, there’s blanket consent. like u don’t have to ask ur partner every time if u can kiss them bc it’s implied yes :’).”

20. What clothes/accessories do they steal from each other? This has been so hard for me to answer because I’m so not silly/goofy about my OCs, I take this very seriously & this is such a cute silly/goofy question lol. But if I really had to think about it, I would say Lathe usually steals Wren’s fancy jewelry in the Capitol, which he doesn’t really care about EXCEPT FOR HIS EARRINGS, DON’T TOUCH THOSE! Madon tends to take Lathe’s flannels so much so that Lathe’s grandmother stitches Madon’s name onto one of his to designate it as his own. His old Peacekeeping buddies there joke around that he looks more like a tradesman than an army grunt, but then again he’s never been one for uniforms.

22. How do they apologize after arguments? This is usually the case for the Happy Couple, after lots of separation to process not only the argument but their response, they tend to come together and just talk. A lot of their relationship is based on communication and honesty, and because they are both two people with vasts knowledge and experiences of truly horrific things, they know it’s best of not hold that all in. So, they talk over a few drinks and maybe a cigar when the kids are asleep, sometimes late at night walking around the gardens.

[little-de-vil]

GOOD MORNING THIS JUST HIT ME AND I’M GOING TO CRY WRITING IT AND YOU SHOULD TOO! (or: Dance in Snowfall)

(I really should be answering my owns asks, but ehhh I’ll get to that later) Inspired by this post by @moreespressoformydepresso (amazing post!!!) (thanks @maidstew for reblogging that because now I have this), just 66 years later [because to me, the main timeline of Snowfall is at the start of the 74th Tour, but then again, this story is not linear by any means]. Actually, this segment is 34 years later after the 10th, at the Victory Tour party at the president's mansion, on the eve of Harvest, celebrating the first Cutter Victor of the Hunger Games, the 44th Victor.

The song I reference is from this post, and here are the lyrics and writing breakdown.

Ashlar Hawk Vance Sophro hates Capitol music. It's too high, too bright, too unnatural, manufactured. And the dances are even worse. Stiff and stilted and spinning with the only focal point being your partner who moves at the same snail pace as all the rest.

"But at least your partner is pretty to look at," he thinks as he steps on her foot again. Pretty and kind, because she just keeps laughing every time, taking one more step to force him upright, to keep slowly spinning with her, to not let go.

But he does the next time she smiles, for she's a great actress, but if he can't believe it then there's no point to keep trying. He hates himself for being here. He's being celebrated for the worst thing he's ever done, for now being rich and famous and loved by rich and famous people but all he can think of is how badly he wants to be home. He'll be back back tomorrow for the Harvest but that's not same because he'll be on that stage, being cheered at. He won't have the luxury of being with his people, just the hewers, the layers, the miners. It's a very different pressure to look good in front of your whole district versus your mountain folk.

How he wishes he could just run from this crowd of slowly spinning mannequins and dance in front of the stone pillar, singing a song only sung once year. And he can't even sing it now. And he knows his family is singing it now, all of Pike at the foot of the mountain, singing and spinning themselves sick, stones pressed to their foreheads, stones jumping from couple to couple. Oh, how he wishes he were like that last line, free from all of this, happy and singing.

He didn't even notice they'd stopped dancing, he guesses the song had ended as softly as it began, with nothing to bolster a difference from one to the next. She keeps holding his hands, nudges him and asks if he's done dancing, too tired. He's not. He's bored.

He grips her hands and they run off the dance floor into a labyrinth of hedges with pretty, sweet flowers. He's never been impulsive, but then again he's never been this person until the trumpets.

"Dance with me." He says, still gripping her hands, only softer. He's excited, happy to be away from the crowd, from the knowing eyes and the painfully hideous clothes and terrible, powerful people.

"We've been dancing, V. My feet can prove we've been doing something of the sort." She says, smiling.

"No Rose, we've been spinning, slowly spinning and just that. That's not dancing! That's just...sad. Dance with me." He repeats.

He pulls out their stones from his jacket pocket, his slightly edged marble to her perfectly tumbled rose quartz, placing his on her forehead. "Dance with me like we're on a mountain, singing and twirling and moving around friends, not strangers. Dance with me to bring on a better year, if nothing else. Dance with me because you love me." He barely whispers that last part.

Her finger hovers over his scar, not touching, just tracing how it moves so cleanly from his temple to his chin. "I don't know how to dance like that."

"I can teach you." He kisses the stone on her forehead. "I just don't want to be alone. Our dances need others, they need life."

He moves back from her and outstretches his arms, one rounded above his head, the other with his palm facing outward on his chest. She mirrors him and slowly they begin to spin. Not in small, tiny circles but in great leaps from one end to the other. As they keep moving, he puts his stone on her forehead, motioning her to do the same. He can barely be heard singing,

We take the crystals and the stones Our lovers and loved ones, we're not alone

But he is heard.

They keep jumping and spinning and she's still a bit confused as to how she got there in the first place and how and when to put her arms where because he keeps saying that the movements match the lyrics, but he refuses to say them. Because he can't. So she keeps going through the motions, keeps jumping and humming to a song she doesn't know and can't hear, one that's only playing in his head but he's so happy that she doesn't care. And at the end, and she is sure this is the end when they bow towards something that must be their guide, she's dizzy but happy. And he's just happy.

"You do this every year? This tradition?" She asks, handing back her stone that he carefully wraps in a small, beat up burlap bag.

"Yes and no. Yes, we do this every year on the eve of the Harvest. Every town goes to their own mine or quarry and has a real party. But it's not a tradition. It's a ritual."

She furrows her brows, "Same thing, isn't it?"

He laughs, "You city folk have all this education and no culture outside of being rich and pretty."

"I can say lots worse for you, Vance Sophro."

"You're too pretty for that, Celeste Snow."

"So what's the difference then? Enlighten me."

He bows his head, mimicking the Capitol gesture, "Traditions are customs and cultural beliefs passed down from generation to generation. Rituals are actions performed in a certain order, still very cultural but they have to be done in the exact same way. Rituals are about order, traditions are about culture, both maintaining it.”

She nods, "So the dancing is both?"

"Sure, the dancing is part of a pre-Harvest ritual. Maybe I'll take you there one of these years." He says that more like a question.

"If we last that long, my love."

"I have no doubt about it, my Rose."

For the next 30 years, they sneak off to perform this ritual in their own way, to keep it alive in the limited way they can.

It's only when everything has fallen that they perform it how has to be, bringing offerings of a small box filled with a collection of stones and a hammer and chisel with the initials M.S. to the mountain in Pike.

[little-de-vil]

I’m listening to catching fire as I always do whilst I’m cooking dinner (pasta with pesto & curried sausage). I’m on chapter 7 and Gale has brought up basically “we have to join the fight”/“what about the other families?”and it makes me realize he and Madon would be great allies. I hesitate to say “friend”, but they would definitely have a mutual understanding of the communal fight against The Capitol. 

[little-de-vil]

11 & 12

It's so funny that you're sending this right as I'm working on your other ask. STOP FOLLOWING ME /s

a WIP you'd like to finish someday Oh God, where to start? I have so many, but the one I love & know will be the most cathartic to finish is Not Going Home for Harvest. I found a year old audio message I made at like 1 in the morning & I forgot how great this one scene is. I hope I can show it to the world one day.

a trope you're really into Idk, I'm not one for tropes. My go-to is just working off of *insert villain here, boom father!* But since this is something I've been working on for over 10 years, it feels a lot deeper than that. I love focusing on legacy and the impact and pressure it brings, how others react to it. Not much of a trope though, is it? Just a niche, I think.

[little-de-vil]

Some Vance lines that just popped up in my head. They’re all very sad, all mostly filled with the guilt of fatherhood, so tread with caution. I wanted to focus on that guilt, but also touch on how it stems from him being a Victor, because being a Victor is all about a lack of autonomy which I’ll touch on in a larger monologue if I ever get to it. A little gift for @tumblingghosts who was in her Vance feels the other day.

“I don’t want her to become like me! Like Whrancliffe. Who can barely look at our wives and children in the eyes knowing that the only reason we have them was because we murdered innocent children. I can’t let her have that.”

“I love you with all that I am, or whatever remains of me, Celeste…but there are days where I regret marrying you. It’s that much harder for me to pretend knowing that I’d be happier if you had let me suffer. My life would’ve been better if you hadn’t found me so interesting.”

“Cliffe, I ain’t asking you if Slough wants ‘em, I know she does. I’m asking you. Now, you keep this between the rabbet* but I never wanted kids. The last thing I wanted in my life, especially after those trumpets, was to become a father. Your Auntie was so happy when she told me she was pregnant. Babies are different in the city, a thing to slap your name on, little dolls to dress up. Here, we put ‘em to work the second they can move on their own, and barely bat an eye when they die in the mines, in their old age, or in the Games. She couldn’t understand that a baby here means an extension of your work and suffering, not a gift. And especially not to a Victor. But you might be different! Just…think of who you are now and who you could become after ‘em.”

*groove, or recess cut out of the edge or face of a surface, intended to receive/insert another rabbet

**usually used as an insult to refer to people who try to insert themselves into business that ain’t theirs, but in this case, it’s used to refer to Hawk (Vance’s HN) and Cliffe as the connecting pieces of wood at the edge