Thank you! Yeah, I wanted to change things up but I also wanted to give the characters the chance to stay roughly the same people. So Haymitch isn't happy and he drinks, but he doesn't drink a lot yet and the other victors are noticing, trying to keep him grounded. Johanna still had to play the same strategy in her Games even though she's from Four, because there was no volunteer for her, but that also means there's a whiff of "wasn't good enough to win fair and square like other Four victors" about that. All in all, though, Johanna and Haymitch are clearly better off in a district full of victors.
Mags is the only other victor I can imagine coming up with the star-crossed lover ploy, apart from Haymitch, so I switched her to Twelve and gave her Finnick/Annie rather than Kat/Peeta to work with.
It was a fun prompt, fun to think about. I keep thinking about Chaff as a District Two Career, Kat as a bristling District One victor (started tribute training to get better schooling for Prim, or something, possibly), Beetee in Seven where everybody stares at him, because nobody understands how he won his Games.
Oh, they're definitely better off since they're not totally isolated as they are in Seven and Twelve. It's a subtle change but it works.
That's Four mentality right there because almost any other district would give her some props for not relying on the crutch of a volunteer. ;)
Mags is a good pick for that--I could maybe see Woof as well given his long association with the Games.
And those last three are definitely interesting to think about. :D I'm curious now how, say, someone like Johanna would work with One. I think Haymitch could transition to One decently enough: as a lingering, even seductive, angle to present, "snarky, clever, and edgy" transitions well even if you cut out the additional angle of his being from a poor district.
But Johanna could likely get away with "vicious cunning bitch" in Two (Enobaria pretty much riffed off the same theme) but One, being the sexy, charming, graceful district...?
Hm, it's difficult because my instinct would be approaching it differently. I'd want each of the characters to keep their conflict, or core components of their personality at last, rather than their television role. Haymitch's TV persona would play out well enough in a Career district, but his theme of isolation, his difficulties in dealing, some of that would have to be retained as well or it wouldn't quite be Haymitch anymore. So I get your point about him in District One, but I'd rather place him in Two exactly because it's not as good a fit - it would make it easier to single him out, to make him different from the others, so that we can write his story of isolation. It's why I gave Johanna that resentment here even though she's in Four. It's such a big part of who she is. I can maybe picture her as a Career who didn't get as many kudos for her awesome victories as she thinks she deserves, especially if her family is dead.
Finnick is probably easiest to move around as long as he can keep Annie. With her, I can see him staying recognizable even in a dark horse district. Without her, it's much more difficult. I'd place him amongst the Career volunteers then and focus on the Capitol exploitation instead.
Yeah, I was kind of coming at it the other way--running their Capitol persona and seeing how they'd fit in--or not--in other districts based on that widespread public perception, since I think that national perception has such an inescapable influence on their actual personality. Surprisingly enough I think it still works because both of them would have problems with acceptance.
Haymitch will still care too much and will likely push people away, and he won't quite fit on a personal level since he's probably too snarky and abrasive for both One and Two, and his win coming by challenging the Gamemakers will not be looked upon well because One and Two know you don't show up the Capitol.
Johanna will probably still alarm people: even in Two, they'd likely consider her supposed deception and slyness with her tears to be "unworthy", whereas in One, her supposed viciousness wouldn't come across well)
Yeah, I can see how that would work for you because you've got a firmer idea about their backstories than I do. Me, I'm still more flexible and mostly borrowing from millari when it comes to pre-Games Haymitch. ;) But yeah, it works because there character is so tightly connected to their personas. It's harder to do that with somebody like Mags. Or even Kat.
Though how do you think Haymitch and Johanna would have ended up volunteering as Careers? Any idea?
My depth of headcanon is ridiculous at this point. ;)
I was discussing Career mentality with someone else last night. If you don't mind a cut and paste job...(with lots of my headcanon and some thoughts on Peacekeepers besides...)
"In terms of how selection works, in Four I have basically every child using "gym class" from a young age to physically prepare for the Games, and at twelve they start training in a weapon. That way every child is prepared to some degree for the arena, and if they're not seventeen or eighteen and their name is called, there's probably a generally acknowledged top boy and top girl ready to stand by to volunteer. If they're old enough and have basically passed expectations in training, they won't be replaced.
In One, they're selected at six and started in intense training. I imagine it's largely the likes of the middling-to-poor, actually, the less successful craftsmen, the metal miners, etc. looking for a chance to advance their lives a bit since having a child in the training school means certain privileges and better status for the family so long as they're in there. And ten, twelve years of social advancement, even if your kid isn't selected as the eventual tribute, means you're pretty well entrenched there with new ties to that higher class, so assuming your kid doesn't fail out young, it's a definite leg up. Orphans are also likely to be entered, if they're attractive, intelligent, and on the whole look like they can be polished up to standard.
In Two, they're also selected at a young age. Someone like Enobaria came from the quarrying class so again, it was a huge social boost to her family to have a kid in the Academy. But she's a rare lower class victor. Most of them come from the established Peacekeeper bloodlines because that way they're already raised in a mindset towards combat, duty, and loyalty. A few exemplary Peacehome orphans probably ended up in the mix but by and large I imagine they preferred to promote the "native" Twos.
Although how "native" those bloodlines are by this point is debatable. Granted, some Two-born Peacekeepers must be marrying fellow Peacekeepers that were former Peacehome orphans, given how low the birthrate is among Peacekeeper families on the whole due to that very late start on childbearing. There just aren't enough kids to maintain the Corps, let alone keep "pure" bloodlines. Ergo also why I see female Peacekeepers not being punished for getting pregnant, so it's not unusual for a kid to have a Peacekeeper mother, or even both parents, and grow up at the Peacehome. The woman would have to go on the likes of desk duty for a while so the natives don't see her belly and gossip, and they immediately have to surrender the baby to the Peacehome, but any child guaranteed to the Corps would be considered a welcome addition.
I've always seen Two as more clan-driven, centered around each training camp, than bloodline driven, though. If you're a Peacekeeper and you marry into a clan, no problem, you belong there regardless of your actual birthplace. The trouble with the orphan Peacekeepers is that they'd have to marry a Two native for that to happen. Someone like Ash and Rhee, both being district orphans, probably wouldn't happen often; the two of them would likely just be lifers in the Corps because neither of them have a home to retire to by virtue of family, and the jobs in Two are preferentially given to those who already have blood ties to that clan to promote keeping those ties strong."
So after that whole spiel, my guess would be that in One, they would have been from poorer families looking to advance in the world, in Two they'd probably be either that or kids of Peacekeeper families who'd see it as their duty (ideally, if they have more than one kid, at least one of them enters the Academy), and in Four they'd either have been "luck of the draw" if they were sixteen or older, or else generally acknowledged as a likely volunteer for the volunteer pool in case the kid drawn was too young.
Sorry it took me so long to get back to this. I wanted to write you a review first; I thought that's probably a reply you'd want to read more urgently. ;)
This is really interesting! I'm currently reading this long District Two fic that I'm sure you've seen around, "Fixed to a Star" by lorata, and the Careers' mindset really interests me. I guess it makes a lot of sense for poor people to use the Games as a way of getting money and advancing their social status. Especially since at least Two would have a lot of fairly poor people with the miners, and I can see how the artisan district of One also would vomit up a lot of folks who're just not gifted in anything related to that. It's a much more specialized district than, say, the ones where everybody can help in the harvest. (this is also why I'm intensely curious about District Three)
Mags is the only other victor I can imagine coming up with the star-crossed lover ploy, apart from Haymitch, so I switched her to Twelve and gave her Finnick/Annie rather than Kat/Peeta to work with.
It was a fun prompt, fun to think about. I keep thinking about Chaff as a District Two Career, Kat as a bristling District One victor (started tribute training to get better schooling for Prim, or something, possibly), Beetee in Seven where everybody stares at him, because nobody understands how he won his Games.
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That's Four mentality right there because almost any other district would give her some props for not relying on the crutch of a volunteer. ;)
Mags is a good pick for that--I could maybe see Woof as well given his long association with the Games.
And those last three are definitely interesting to think about. :D I'm curious now how, say, someone like Johanna would work with One. I think Haymitch could transition to One decently enough: as a lingering, even seductive, angle to present, "snarky, clever, and edgy" transitions well even if you cut out the additional angle of his being from a poor district.
But Johanna could likely get away with "vicious cunning bitch" in Two (Enobaria pretty much riffed off the same theme) but One, being the sexy, charming, graceful district...?
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Hm, it's difficult because my instinct would be approaching it differently. I'd want each of the characters to keep their conflict, or core components of their personality at last, rather than their television role. Haymitch's TV persona would play out well enough in a Career district, but his theme of isolation, his difficulties in dealing, some of that would have to be retained as well or it wouldn't quite be Haymitch anymore. So I get your point about him in District One, but I'd rather place him in Two exactly because it's not as good a fit - it would make it easier to single him out, to make him different from the others, so that we can write his story of isolation. It's why I gave Johanna that resentment here even though she's in Four. It's such a big part of who she is. I can maybe picture her as a Career who didn't get as many kudos for her awesome victories as she thinks she deserves, especially if her family is dead.
Finnick is probably easiest to move around as long as he can keep Annie. With her, I can see him staying recognizable even in a dark horse district. Without her, it's much more difficult. I'd place him amongst the Career volunteers then and focus on the Capitol exploitation instead.
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Haymitch will still care too much and will likely push people away, and he won't quite fit on a personal level since he's probably too snarky and abrasive for both One and Two, and his win coming by challenging the Gamemakers will not be looked upon well because One and Two know you don't show up the Capitol.
Johanna will probably still alarm people: even in Two, they'd likely consider her supposed deception and slyness with her tears to be "unworthy", whereas in One, her supposed viciousness wouldn't come across well)
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Though how do you think Haymitch and Johanna would have ended up volunteering as Careers? Any idea?
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I was discussing Career mentality with someone else last night. If you don't mind a cut and paste job...(with lots of my headcanon and some thoughts on Peacekeepers besides...)
"In terms of how selection works, in Four I have basically every child using "gym class" from a young age to physically prepare for the Games, and at twelve they start training in a weapon. That way every child is prepared to some degree for the arena, and if they're not seventeen or eighteen and their name is called, there's probably a generally acknowledged top boy and top girl ready to stand by to volunteer. If they're old enough and have basically passed expectations in training, they won't be replaced.
In One, they're selected at six and started in intense training. I imagine it's largely the likes of the middling-to-poor, actually, the less successful craftsmen, the metal miners, etc. looking for a chance to advance their lives a bit since having a child in the training school means certain privileges and better status for the family so long as they're in there. And ten, twelve years of social advancement, even if your kid isn't selected as the eventual tribute, means you're pretty well entrenched there with new ties to that higher class, so assuming your kid doesn't fail out young, it's a definite leg up. Orphans are also likely to be entered, if they're attractive, intelligent, and on the whole look like they can be polished up to standard.
In Two, they're also selected at a young age. Someone like Enobaria came from the quarrying class so again, it was a huge social boost to her family to have a kid in the Academy. But she's a rare lower class victor. Most of them come from the established Peacekeeper bloodlines because that way they're already raised in a mindset towards combat, duty, and loyalty. A few exemplary Peacehome orphans probably ended up in the mix but by and large I imagine they preferred to promote the "native" Twos.
Although how "native" those bloodlines are by this point is debatable. Granted, some Two-born Peacekeepers must be marrying fellow Peacekeepers that were former Peacehome orphans, given how low the birthrate is among Peacekeeper families on the whole due to that very late start on childbearing. There just aren't enough kids to maintain the Corps, let alone keep "pure" bloodlines. Ergo also why I see female Peacekeepers not being punished for getting pregnant, so it's not unusual for a kid to have a Peacekeeper mother, or even both parents, and grow up at the Peacehome. The woman would have to go on the likes of desk duty for a while so the natives don't see her belly and gossip, and they immediately have to surrender the baby to the Peacehome, but any child guaranteed to the Corps would be considered a welcome addition.
I've always seen Two as more clan-driven, centered around each training camp, than bloodline driven, though. If you're a Peacekeeper and you marry into a clan, no problem, you belong there regardless of your actual birthplace. The trouble with the orphan Peacekeepers is that they'd have to marry a Two native for that to happen. Someone like Ash and Rhee, both being district orphans, probably wouldn't happen often; the two of them would likely just be lifers in the Corps because neither of them have a home to retire to by virtue of family, and the jobs in Two are preferentially given to those who already have blood ties to that clan to promote keeping those ties strong."
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This is really interesting! I'm currently reading this long District Two fic that I'm sure you've seen around, "Fixed to a Star" by lorata, and the Careers' mindset really interests me. I guess it makes a lot of sense for poor people to use the Games as a way of getting money and advancing their social status. Especially since at least Two would have a lot of fairly poor people with the miners, and I can see how the artisan district of One also would vomit up a lot of folks who're just not gifted in anything related to that. It's a much more specialized district than, say, the ones where everybody can help in the harvest. (this is also why I'm intensely curious about District Three)
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