#that point about the vickers & the ravinstills has me thinking so many thoughts

[persephoneprice]

thinking about "being unable to see people as just evil." imo it's a useful quality, and with thg/tbosas i like that that perspective is kinda baked into the narrative. that's part of why the mentors are so interesting to me -- most of them are probably doomed to become tools of a terrible system (they're destined for brilliant careers in the capitol, after all) but for now they're all 18-year-olds doing their best and probably hiding what they really believe. if they even know what they believe. AND on top of all that, they survived the dark days together? god

btw i got lysistrata on your uquiz and she's great so i appreciate it lol. her being childhood friends with snow is something i think about a lot because i feel like she actually sees his potential to do good. which is nice but tragic because he doesn't see that potential in himself. like she can Tell that he also hates the games and the many ways that the mentors are being manipulated, but he'll never admit it. just too much of a risk. (he also sees *her* potential to do good, and unlike with sejanus, he respects it, since she generally tries to do the right thing in calculated ways rather than impulsively challenging the status quo. he still finds her strange and disorienting to be around since she clearly doesn't *want* to conform and be accepted nearly as much as he does.) anyway my main hc for her is that she ends up in bioengineering (NOT working for dr. gaul lmao) and is extremely good at what she does. she experiences various ethical dilemmas because she creates something that both can save lives in a unique way And is likely to be used in the games/could have military applications(?), so. idk. she struggles with that a lot because she refuses to turn away from the harm her project could cause

i also hc that lyssie stays friends with snow longer than one might expect -- i think she's surprisingly open to feeling (and acting on) compassion for people she knows she can never fully trust. and she's often been viewed as, like, adjacent to capitol high society without the possibility of being genuinely accepted into its ranks, so she doesn't tend to trust a lot of people. she tends to like or at least be curious about a lot of people, though, and she doesn't see that as contradictory. she keeps her distance when it's necessary, and tbh sometimes when it's unnecessary. i feel like she would be one of (young politician) snow's few positive influences -- even convincing him to make good public health decisions that benefit the districts. something like that. she'd be good at laying it all out as strategically useful, etc. and then their friendship eventually falls apart as it becomes clear that snow really isn't trying to change things from the inside (while lyssie definitely is)

bonus: it seems possible that lyssie's parents know some ravinstill family secrets since they're max's doctors. make of this what you will. dr. and dr. vickers, what do you know?? whatever's going on with them and max could also have Parallels with lyssie being relatively close to snow as he gains power. much to think about

oh coryo, this is such a wonderful ask to receive! genuinely, i am so excited to dive into this (under the cut because this turned into a small novel!)

i completely 100% agree with what you’re saying about the mentors and i think you’ve brought up such an amazing point with this. i think it’s easy to dismiss the mentors as being evil/terrible people, but i truly don’t believe there’s such a thing as a fully naturally evil person (not even urban canville).

the mentors get a lot of hate and i definitely get why (and enjoy participating!) but i think a lot of people forget just how young these mentors are. of course, that may be because so many tbosas fans are so young- but 18/19 is barely an adult. it’s so easy to dismiss them as horrible because of how they acted (and definitely they deserve the criticism) but i think in doing so, we really overlook the situation they’re in. of course this bunch of elite kids who have been spoon fed propaganda aren’t perfectly ready to overthrow the entire system they know at 18 years old. especially considering they’re all traumatized from living through a literal war as children.

not to mention how dangerous it is to speak out or mess with the wrong person as a citizen in panem.

they may not have handled things perfectly or ideally, but that doesn’t mean we need to dismiss them completely. i firmly believe that all people have a capacity for change- especially when the versions we see of them are so young!

imagine being in that position! you’re barely 18 and facing graduation (which is such a difficult phase of life as it is!). you’ve lived through a war and have had to cope with the trauma of that and you’ve been fed your whole life that the reason you suffered was because of these people. then you’re told out of no where that you’re going to be assigned one of the children from the place that caused your, and everyone you know’s, suffering. you get this kid in front of you and your forced to get to know them. looking from the perspective of the mentors view (and i’m not saying i agree!), a lot of these kids prove you right by being violent and harsh because these mentors aren’t able to put themselves in the shoes of the people they view as ‘bad’.

in other cases, the mentors realize that the children really are just children and don’t deserve what’s happening. but what can they do other than offer food and try to help them the best they can? speak out? we see how things like that go in the capitol. sejanus is punished for the way he lashed out and the feed was cut when he tried to do something.

i’m not saying they shouldn’t have done more- i’m just saying it’s not as black and white as people like to think.

i’m sorry- i’ve already rambled so much but i also really want to touch on the part of lyssie! i loved what you said about her seeing coriolanus’s ability to do good- because coriolanus did have the ability to do a lot of good. he ultimately chose a different path- but the option was there. he wasn’t born an evil dictator.

i think think it’s interesting your point about why he respected lysistrata vs sejanus! i also really liked your bioengineering headcanon. i think that’s so spot on!

i’ve never thought about it- but now that you say you think she stayed friends with coriolanus longer than one might expect i completely agree! she has that compassion inside of her and she’s grown up with this person. this was one of her best friends and she cares about him- it’s not easy to just give that up. i can absolutely see her trying to hold on and hold out hope that the coryo she loved will push through and stop the madness- or that she’ll be able to influence better things in the situation. she’s aware that she’s between a rock and a hard place and does the best she can with what she’s got.

and AH that last paragraph! i had a conversation with a friend recently about a hc with the heavensbees & the phipps and all their dark family secrets and how they’re sort of forced to remain close because of all the dirt they have on each other. i could see a very similar situation for the ravinstills & the vickers!! oh that’s such an interesting point but this is already so long…but trust i am thinking!