I think one of the things that pisses me off about Snow is his superiority about dealing with hardship and suffering. Like yes, he’s got ptsd from the war, he knows what it is to be hungry, his family lost their income and struggled because of it to the point of losing their house.
And it was more vague until the bit I just read, but he literally just had a paragraph about the difference between him and Twelve. How Twelve has clearly given up, they don’t care anymore, but a Snow pulls himself up by his bootstraps and has some decency, AND THEN straight up says “We pour so much money into the districts” until Sejanus is like “yeah bro into the industries FOR the Capitol, not the people. Not their housing.”
It’s like he cannot fathom that the Capitol did and does cause the districts’ suffering, especially the poorer ones like Twelve, and he admits he blames them for their situation. He does not separate his entirely different hardships from theirs, to him they are the same and he is better for overcoming them.
And I feel like that just. Stays his whole life. 60+ years later he meets Katniss who’s from the Seam and lost her dad to the mines and he’s almost like “ok? We went through the exact same thing, I don’t understand what your issue is.” It is infuriating because no asshole, one is oppression and dehumanisation and beating people down into submission as much as possible and the other an effect of war that you very much had opportunities to recover from, WHICH YOU TOOK, until you were straight up in charge and could see exactly where all that money was going and how the utter lack of everything was affecting districts like Twelve
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Teeth
no spoilers, this is all pre-ARR! When Aki was brought in to the weird adoptive family.
tw, mentions of food.
Aki’s teeth are sharp. More So than your average Keeper. Her fangs are long, pointy, and ready to sink in to the next one to offer their hand.
Cevi noticed this mere seconds into knowing the girl. She was small, frail, her eyes blown wide and her mouth set in a snarl. Her hair was choppy and matted, and Cevi could hear a growl as she approached the girl.
Cevi did not speak to her. Words would not work, if this she was certain. This was a girl who had seen things Cevi quite literally could not imagine.
“We should leave her be,” Amil spoke plainly. “She does not wish to be bothered.”
“She’s but a child!” Cecelia hissed. “I’m not leaving, that’s final.”
Cevi raised a hand and both voices fell silent. Cevi stepped closer, showing no sign of fear. She stretched out both her hands and slowly spun around, showing the child she was unarmed. Aki’s snarl did not quiet, but she did not make any moves to attack. Cevi took this as a good enough sign to continue.
Cevi dropped down in front of Aki, sitting herself cross legged. She put her hands palm up in her lap and sat still, watching the child. It did not come quickly, but eventually, Aki relaxed. She leaned back against the tree she sat in front of, her glare eventually turning into simply a look of distrust.
“My name is Cevi,” she spoke gently, as not to alarm her. “What’s yours?”
The child looked her up and down, her eyes drifting to Cevi’s companions that stood further back behind her. She brought her attention back to Cevi.
“Aki.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
Cevi nodded, looking over her more relaxed form. She couldn’t be older than fourteen summers.
“My friends and I mean you no harm,” Cevi’s voice did not waver. “Will you come to our campsite for a moment? We have food to share.”
She shook her head. “I’m staying here.”
“I can go get some for you,” Florian offered quietly. Aki’s eyes darted to him as he shyly stepped forward. “We just want to make sure you are taken care of.”
Aki stood up slowly, her eyes not leaving Florian’s for a moment. Her stare was hardened, her claws sharp and ready to attack. And in an instant, she darted to him. She was fast, leaving not a one of them a chance to stop her.
Cevi bolted, ready to defend her friend when she realized the child was not attacking at all. She had climbed up his tall frame, clinging to his front. Florian, for his part, looked at Cevi with his eyes blown wide as he held this tiny Miqo’te in his arms.
“It looks like she likes you,” Constianne said with a chuckle. “That would be the first.”
Lucien elbowed Constianne and hushed her sharply.
“Would you… like to come with, then?” Florian asked nervously.
Aki nodded into his chest.
“Okay,” Florian spoke with a smile forming on his lips. “Let’s be off then.”
Aki stayed by Florian’s side the entire night. She eventually warmed up to Cevi, then one by one started meeting the others eyes. When one dinner spent with them turned in to a night, into a week, into moons, Aki started to grow fond of each and every one of the new adults in her life. She sat on Lucien’s shoulders as they built their new home and sat beside Cecelia as she read stories to Aki. Amil played hide and go seek with her (in his strange ways) and Constianne taught Aki to build fires to make warm sweets for after supper. Florian often found himself with a smaller shadow behind him at every turn.
When their new home was built with one additional bedroom for Aki, Cevi tucked Aki into her new bed and kissed her forehead goodnight. Aki’s hand caught Cevi’s, a request for Cevi to stay just a bit longer.
Though Aki’s teeth are sharp, she had no need to bite. Even the wildest of beasts can be trained with a gentle hand.
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