*ortalama bir hayalperest*your average dreamer*

Ronan: Libra (October 1st)

Due to his patriarchal status to every victor line legacy, I think of him as a Libra; he is very precise with the decisions he makes and is outwardly calm and I see him as very poised and a good example for the ‘children’ in the village.

Caius: Gemini (May 25th)

I adopted the idea that if Caius is the wild one Luna is the one who’s calmer from one of your asks discussing victor-mentor tree. In my version of Caius, he is the wild one (so Caius/Luna dynamic sort of mirroring Callista/Nero’s) so he is thus a Gemini. He is outgoing, nosy and indecisive although those traits faded as he got older— although he still is very much the reason Ronan almost greyed as soon as he got out of his arena.

Luna: Pisces (March 14th)

As mentioned above, Luna is the calmer of the duo. In my headcanon she loves poetry and is also very aware of her overall emotional and psychological state. She is definitely the one who gets Caius and herself out of trouble and is a lot more sensitive to how people perceive her. She is Ronan’s middle-Victor and the most Ronan-like out of all three of them; which resulted in her not receiving the same amount of attention as Caius and later on Iris had. Which she might have resented but due to it being earlier years it was the norm, so she let that go.

Iris: Taurus (April 26th)

I see her as someone who is very patient, self-indulgent and reacts negatively to change. That caused her recovery to be messy since the system was constantly changing and also, I believe around the time Iris won, the Capitol really started to pay attention to Two because of Ronan’s success and likelihood of pulling victors; and a rather carefree person such as Iris would put Two’s loyal reputation at risk; so Ronan almost grew another head with this one. And –since I really like dynamics mirroring one another– Iris was the first victor to cuddle-seek but she never asked for one because no one reciprocated and Iris respects boundaries. So she thought: maybe having a victor of my own gives me hugs to share as well as expands the glory of my district. That ended up Very Good.

Adessa: Aquarius (February 16th)

Because of her tendency to be selective about the people she hangs out with, her calmness and being distant with people she cares about; I elected Aquarius over Capricorn. She is also very opinionated and seems unemotional and cold despite how deeply she experiences those emotions but she’d rather plan and take action rather than outwardly expressing them (re:her murder spree in ADUD). She also makes decisions with logic and ends up with Nero whom she could not understand his needs at first but shows the effort to get better at it. (Adessa being stuck in between two cuddlers is immensely amusing to me; she is off to side while Iris and Nero high fives)

Hera: Capricorn (December 22nd)

Considering she mentors Callista and her winning after 30th shows how dedicated and capable she is—not to mention goal-oriented. Hera, to me, is someone who is very self reflective and also very patient and honest with others and herself without being mellow nor cruel about it. Everytime she appears or gets mentioned, she strikes me as a stable person who is prideful and also has good intuition.

Odin: Leo (August 3rd)

He is the host of the village and is very enthusiastic about it because he gets to be around a community. He also is very loyal to both Capitol and his fellow victors and for him, it never overlaps because he picks the kids like him; loyal and honest to Panem, District, and themselves—these choices make his life slightly more uncomplicated than most of the others. So Odin never experiences much hardship until the 3QQ and Leos in general has a tendency to dislike facing reality as much. (This is irrelevant but he’d make a great theater kid, he seems dramatic to me and would nail it)

Callista: Virgo (September 6th)

Her birthday is decided to be October 31st–and it is— but I also want to add my own spin to it for her and not leave her out sooo. She seems contradicting to outsiders at times because if she took out her rightful anger and frustration upon the ones who actually are at fault, well, her cats and the entire village would be gone and she would not like that. Virgos are also animal lovers and very meticulous about their life and choices bordering being a perfectionist. So apart from Scorpio, she does have Virgo attributes about her as well.

Emory: Scorpio (November 12th)

This is the one surprised me because I always saw her as Leo adjacent but when I thought about Emory more: she is perspective around others’ struggles, is actually very passionate and protective about the people (re: her during the war in ADUD as well as calling Lyme out when she–Lyme–looks down on the working class (i think it was on chapter 5?)) and the things she is interested in and is unashamed to share and show those–it’s just not as apparent because she is being humble. People are drawn to her because she is friendly, and unassuming and if she makes judgements they are not hearing about it. I actually do believe if she had not won by default, she would be much more confident and even cocky as well, at times of course. I grew attached to her and if she were real I’d be defending her—which makes me relate to Misha, speaking of…

Artemisia: Sagittarius (December 8th)

The main reason Misha is a prankster is because of curiosity and her wanting to explore all the limits and boundaries of people. She can be intense if you do not know her and she’s also very adaptable and does not yield to mortal difficulties like life or fate. She is also very energetic and very stubborn meaning if she gets an idea or a thought that she’s wrong about, it’s hard for her to get over those and move on.

And here are the ones I feel the ~vibe~ and not a coherent explanation like the ones above.

Nero: Pisces (February 27th)

Brutus: Libra (September 30th)

Lyme: Cancer (June 29th)

Devon: Leo (July 31st)

Enobaria: Scorpio (October 28th)

Claudius: Taurus (May 13th)

She was born as the clock hit midnight, when October 30th bled into 31st; a sign of power, her parents said and as if to prove that theory, the rosy-cheeked baby hadn’t screamed or shed a tear when she finally took her first breath and nor will she when she rises into the greatness that was ahead of her.

A greatness even this little soul knew already.

—

Callista likes to get what she wants, is the only thing her teachers agree upon describing her ın the parent-teacher meeting conferences. Because even though she is still  a rosy-cheeked five year old, she has a great way to people and the way she acted around them, controlling the very air around her:

Callista is very demure when she says her classmates are good but not good enough and maybe she can help them because they have so much to improve on. (and then she sneakily hides their projects, making them seem irresponsible; always ending up as the one who gets the praise)

Callista is very passionate when she says she can skillfully use her scissors and unlike other kids, she would not try to hurt them with her tools because she is so well-behaved, a favourite and has manners. (if she wanted to hurt them, she definitely would try to find a way without staining her pretty scissors)

Callista is very polite about the way she informs her teachers during recess, she discusses the things her peers say to one another that might be harmful or could possibly paint them in a bad light. (well, she could paint them in a bad light as she is perfect in painting, she just threatens her peers a bit for them to do it for her because she does not want to paint)

Callista is, they say–Callista just is.

—

When she watches her first Games, Callista is six years old and it also happens to be her first Victor, a fact which she cried along with her parents as they wept because Two finished their second decade with success, power and most of all, they had done their duty and are ready to provide for more.

And although they had let their little daughter watch death happen in more ways than she can count at that age, they do turn off the voice of television and bid her goodnight when their latest Victor decides to dissect however the amount of dead tributes left.  

Callista obeys even though she cannot comprehend why the Victor-Adessa, she can say her name now because she is Two’s forever and ever and not buried underground like other twenty three- should not be allowed to murder just a tad more when she can for the last time.

And it’s not like the tributes would feel anything now, she reckons.

—

After less than a year her parents tell her she will -not can, nor chance-- actually be one of them; one of the Victors. And Callista thinks obviously because she knows she is meant for more; not just good or good enough but only the best.

So they take her to Centre to take a test which makes her want to scoff but that would be rude in the public eye, not very demure so she just asks why she should take a test if her capacity is already a fact and proven through the school tests she already started to take.

Her parents smile and say it is for reassurance which makes Callista want to frown but she cannot do that either, no wrinkles are allowed when we aren’t at home, afterall.

When she is a Victor she will make sure people give answers she likes because she deserves to know why, not just reassurances.

When they enter the building she stands up tall among her parents as a lady makes her way towards them. “Ah, I see the last link of the Beauforts ready to shine as well. Calliope, was it?”

“Callista.” she says, pulling her ‘serious’ voice which she uses with adults. She doesn’t know what she is more annoyed at; the way this stranger thinks she isn’t shining already or getting her name wrong or the talk she sure will receive this evening when they get back home about not interrupting the adults.

The lady, however, chuckles. “Well, Callista, nice to meet you. You may go to room six as your parents and I talk.”

Callista opens her mouth again but she can feel the three pairs of eyes burning on her and even though she likes attention, she has a feeling that this is her cue to pretend to listen so she nods and takes a turn to make her way as she hears about the recent changes in the Offering System.

When she reaches room six she stops in front of it and knocks and doesn’t enter until she hears a soft ‘come in’. She smiles just as she had been taught and introduces herself which the woman in front of her takes in with delight. She offers Callista a seat and asks her about her which is Callista’s favourite topic to talk about. 

Then she shows up a few pictures and that’s when she struggle a bit because she doesn’t know what to say to Ms. Ambers in order to make her family look good. It’s not like her eyes are bad or she lacks creativity but she still answers confidently even though it definitely isn’t her best few minutes and she notes to herself to analyse people better.

But apparently Ms. Ambers has a few things to do -which Callista considers unprofessional because who would sign up for things when they have other more important things to do?- and she pardons herself for a few minutes meanwhile Callista can or cannot enjoy the marshmallows that are in front of her- which is another unprofessional thing because aren’t guests supposed to relish in catering?

However she isn’t a guest, she is in a test and things like these might not be applicable here so she waits because she might make up for the picture guessing things by offering the older woman a few of her marshmallows because she is polite and sharing is caring.

When Ms. Ambers turns back she eyes the treats with a glint in her eyes and Callista feels grateful that she doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth even though she smiles all cute and sure and makes her offer but doesn’t wave her hand up in air because then it would be obvious that she is mimicking her parents’ attitude in these situations.

And for being such a good girl, Callista gets to prove her physical strength when Ms. Ambers take her to the playground. She eyes the other kids as she makes her way through them, honestly, they stood no chance to her, they should be aware of that when the trumpets boom. So she mainly shows things she is already excellent at such as flexibility as she climbs up the ropes, the way she pushes kids down but doesn’t let herself lose any progress she made while climbing up.

Callista smiles and it’s not the ‘sweet’ coded one for once but she cannot bring herself to care.

—

And as she always does, Callista dominates; she is the best in her cohort and best overall so far; she is calculating,vicious and powerful and she drinks it up like a cocktail while she breaks other people’s bones. She doesn’t smile much but when she does it smells blood and there is nothing anyone can do; she is perfect because she is and well guess who has to deal with that? Not her.

It is a problem, apparently as she grows older because everyone grows older and it turns from games to Games and the clock ticking like the ones in the Arenas do. There are kids who already are quitting or painfully obvious that they won’t make it until fifteen but also the ones that are becoming more and more insistent and nastier and Callista can’t ignore that. This–everything around here is what she is passionate about and she will not let them take it away so she trains herself even more, pushing her limits until nothing is left to be pushed and it works until it doesn’t.

Arrogance is one of the things what Two looks for in tributes but they prefer not overdosing it and well Callista apparently did because there was no other reason they brought a Victor–her first, Adessa, at that– to show her place which she already knows, obviously, she just wanted to enlarge the narrative but it’s still a good wake up call nonetheless about how extreme confidence may cause great tragedies.

Odin in 32nd proved it to the other children that sometimes too much believing in the death-condition of the last tribute as you turn around for the trumpets might cost you an eye even if you kill them afterwards. And that is one of the lessons Callista listened to in her heart.

And she grows and kills and plays the cameras and when they announce the chosen female tribute she cackles and it’s raw and dangerous and her.

When the trumpets play, Callista grins as she holds herself up from the One tribute who is as naked and as flushed as her but not as alive. This is what she was made for, what her parents told her for and what she made herself as and she is proud of herself and the whole country is and everything is perfect.

—

Hera is waiting for her in the hovercraft and she is still there when Callista takes her well deserved nap and she will be with her as long as Callista requires because she is a mentor with an alive kid for once and her eyes are proud.

She has a house in the village now but it seems to be not ready for her yet which Callista doesn’t really think is justifiable; who else was there but her to win 41st? But she won’t throw a tantrum because she has all the time for eternity and is not a rose-cheeked toddler anymore.

In the months between her win and Tour, she finds the lack of blood too boring. Everything around her is soft and safe and in order which is such a difference from the Arena and from the last eleven years. And when Hera is gone for a bit Callista sneaks a blade –which were hidden away from her except her mentor doesn't know all her skills–and slides it across her skin and inhales the coppery smell of blood; bright and dark and beautiful like her. She patches it up afterwards because she didn’t die from infection then and won’t die now.

Apparently being alive and perfect is not enough to be loved by everyone which confuses her at first. It’s not like she expected outliers to adore her but she didn't anticipate this much hate either and it’s way too obvious, no doubt they don’t have the privileges Two has; one needs to know how to play the game and Callista and the entire district does.

The village feels even more like home after the Tour, however all she can feel now is rage. How dare people not see the greatness behind her? Or was it her price to pay for being herself? 

And that is when the thirst for blood paints her sight red and some lowlife ends up dead by her hands and it should be glorious but it’s not and she’s boiling and she is ready to hunt again but–

Mentors apparently can appear out of thin air and Callista hisses out as she stands up on her feet and braces herself for impact because while Hera is not particularly vicious she definitely won’t let a corpse slide underneath her feet especially if it’s from her Victor’s knives. Hera grabs her by the collar of her jacket and smashes her to a tree. 

“You are out.” Hera says, tone distanced but furious. “You are someone with enough blood on her hands which was allowed then because that is what everyone needs to do there in order to seem worthy of freedom. You have it now and you are not a fool to even think I will tell you throw all that. This is not Games anymore, being alive is not the only rule around here, and you might act like you do not care but we both know if that was the case you wouldn't be covered in blood now.”

Callista doesn’t meets her eyes, for once in her life she feels something similar to shame. Not shame for herself but for her actions which will have consequences she’s sure she could live without. “What else am I supposed to be covered with?” There are a few things in her mind but she definitely cannot say them now.

“Only your flesh. We can’t redo what we had done nor should we, but we can stay true to ourselves and achieve things from there.”

“...so I should kill some more then.” Callista smirks a little, not mean nor innocent, just her. “That’s who I am.”

Hera, points for her, doesn’t take her bullshit. “You know exactly what I mean–”

Footsteps. 

Except they don’t sound massive, and since the guy has been dead for at least half an hour, it is definitely not him.

Hera and Callista share glances and she gives her mentor a knife, just in case. 

“Mrw,” a one-eyed cat is staring at them, defensive with at least half a dozen kittens underneath her and she tries to keep them all in one place as they try to walk away from their mother.

Callista looks at them, strangely marveled as she watches the scene in front of her and Hera probably looks at her Victor the same way as she takes off her jacket and swaddles them in her arms despite the protests. “Hey now–”

Callista still doesn’t look at Hera, this night feels like a fever dream already so why not take full advantage? “Can you help me? They are heavy and I think they find my arms quite tasteful.”

Hera purses her lips as if she’s reconsidering her life choices. “Fine,” she decides and walks towards her Victor who is being playfully strangled by a bunch of mammals. She picks up a few of them carefully. “But–if this happens again, you will not see them ever again. Understood?”

“What if my hand slips or–” Callista starts but quotes down when her mentor gives her a look. “Okay. That is—okay.”

Callista: Fun fact, she is the reason all of this au started. At first I thought of Aphrodite because, you know, Goddess of Love and Lust and Beauty who also has quite a vindictive nature in some of the myths. But then I realised Dionysus kind of suited her more; God of Wine, Theatre and Madness. He borned twice, turned men into dolphins and also had an insane cult...and I thought, you know what, Calli would absolutely rock as him--like, she parties with you hard but then you slightly, slightly get on her nerves and she reminds you why she is the embodiment of lunacy with one sharp gaze.

Nero: Hephaestus. Had a rough childhood -got thrown out of a window (by?? Well, in some myths Hera, some myths Zeus and sometimes both, you make up your mind) from Mount Olympus-, and is a blacksmith who likes to create things with his own hands, finding it soothing. He does not socialise much, kind of like the Eeyore of the immortals which I juxtaposed with Nero.

Emory: Low aggression, cares about the people, family, is really kind and understanding. She'd be excellent as Hestia. Hestia is the Goddess of Hearth and Home, who also is regarded as one of the kindest and most compassionate amongst all gods but she is also the first child of Rhea and Kronos; the first one who got eaten by her own father because of sheer prophecy, so she is fiercely protective as well. She also is really considerate; Hestia gave her throne to Dionysus -making him the newest and 12th Olympian- in order to prevent the potential war in her siblings.

Artemisia: Another fun albeit useless fact; I misread her name as Artemis, who is Goddess of the Hunt and Virginity when I first started reading wmbk--and it still is with me to this day. Let's leave the laughs aside, i think she'd be great as either Até: Goddess of Mischief and Reckless Impulse or as Hermes: God of Thieves, Travel and also Mischief as well. They are both her vibe to be honest and I love that for her.

Brutus: Persephone. Listen. I know this is unhinged but let me explain. She likes nature (Goddess of Spring, so obviously) but also had been abducted by Hades ->re: bb Brutus, who has a loving home -kind of like Demeter's, Persephone's mother, garden where she grew up safe and sound- going to Centre -Persephone going to Underworld, Hades' domain- and even though he turned out a Victor, he still has his mother's, Heidi's love -Persephone visits Demeter for six months, and stays with Hades six months, results in creating seasons. It's the vibes honestly. And we deserve Brutus covered up in flowers and be happy so how could I resist.

Adessa: Athena. I think this is self explanatory enough -someone needs to be the representative genius-, but also consider this: apart from being the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena is also Goddess of Warfare and Heroic Endeavor. She represents the intellectual and civilised side of the war but also is highly hot tempered even though she shows it by quiet but permanent action rather than showering people with emotions. (re: Athena turning Arachne into a spider and Adessa killing Nero's cougars after over 30 years of planning)

Ronan: Being the First Career Victor Ever™, he obviously was the hot topic back in the day; so Nike, who is the Goddess of Victory would be appropriate for him. But then I switched it to Ares, who is God of War and Courage would be better because: 1. There is a high chance of bb Ronan witnessing the war between the districts and Capitol, 2. Ares' sacred animal is a dog--so yeah, figures.

Lyme: This is as unhinged as Brutus' Persephone but...perhaps it's even more so; I think she would be Aphrodite, who, as I mentioned with Callista, is the Goddess of Love, Beauty and Lust (the third one is unrelated to Lyme but well). At first I was like; yeah, she'd be a war goddess probably, not that deep, then I went --oh, Aphrodite is Goddess of War as well then it just clicked. So my theory with Aphrodite, as in the most modern retellings of myths I see, she changes her appearance to people's ideal vision of beauty--which is pretty diverse (quick headcanon: in this au the first person who saw Lyme's true appearance, which is her canon look, is Nero--he cherishes his girl and says that he thinks the most beautiful thing is one being themselves) and Love because even though she went through an abusive household to the murder academy, she still loves in her own way, like people do. (re: Mentor Lyme with Misha, Claudius and Sloane)

Odin is not here because he is the Odin in the Norse mythology which I think was intentional.

So this means Hera as Hera and Iris as Iris because why not

The girl in front of her door is unimpressive with blood soaked up to her elbows and a maniacal look in her eyes. She is new here, Adessa knows this, everyone knows this, they all watched the last days of the 41st to see who was the newest murder-child that will be reborn out of violence and as much as she appreciates a good torture, her appreciation is limited at the ones skills to get away with it—and this girl right here, Callista, is a living proof of it.

Not that any new babies will know how to skin the skin off and get out of the crime scene without leaving a clue behind. It’s sad, but a force of infancy in the end, so Adessa doesn’t dwell on that.

They weren’t introduced to one another yet, but according to that all-teeth-but-no-mirth smile of hers, she already knew who she was, which house she lived in and few key things about her to suggest such an undergrad suggestion to her.

“Go to your mentor.” says Adessa after a well-calculated minute. This winter was the hottest they experienced so far, not a single snowflake on sight thus leaving the children to go wild and do the dumbest things out of sheer boredom.

(Odin, a few days ago, tried to congratulate her birthday by playing a round of chess with her then had the audacity to look insulted when Adessa said she only plays with the intellects that will challenge her, not the ones that use their brains to feed the snails.)

But this one right here, a mere girl who thought she knew everything about killing just because she ripped about bodies and feast on it, tops the cake.

Callista tilts her head, that damn smile never falling, and she narrows her eyes, a failed attempt to scare off a woman who dissected a person on live when the new Victor who probably  couldn’t even read yet at the time. “No,” she says. “I said help me, so you will.”

Adessa raises a brow and tilts her head as well, if this little girl wants to play then she will. “The only person who is assigned to help you is your mentor.” she answers, seemingly calm. “A poorly done job so far as I can see, but trust your elder and go to her.”

Now, this seems to start to annoy the fussy one. Sweet. “And what? So she could ground me once again?”

“Only solution to your murderous outbursts, as far as I’m concerned—which is none.” She reaches for the door knob to close it but a heel gets in between and stops the motion.

“I don’t care what important thing going in your life to not to get me out of this mess—”

“--a lot of things actually, dear. Grown up jobs.”

Callista ignores her as she continues. “--but allowing another fellow murderer to go to prison like a common criminal is not fair in your case.”

Adessa shrugs. “Well, you do act like one.”

Callista breathes out slowly, expression calm but dangerous and oh, it seems like someone will have an outburst yet again and Adessa prepares herself for that lovely scene—except it doesn’t happen. The younger woman squares her shoulders up slightly and grins yet again and huh, now things are getting interesting.

 “Well,” she says after a moment. “It still doesn’t change the fact that some asshole out there is bleeding in some high-class hospital because of a new Victor, a one from Two at that, which would massively affect our, your, future mentorships if you don’t rid me of this. So many kids you helped to raise in that damn Centre just because you decided to ignore me. So…you in or what?”

Adessa doesn’t answer, just stares at the newest Victor like she found a new potential, a promising one at that—unlike Odin who was just too scared to raise a single eyebrow at her let alone his voice. “Well, your first mistake was to admit the body to the hospital.” Adessa says and something shines in Callista’s dark eyes. 

--

Hera is at her door a few days later as predicted and her expression is the one from a statue, stone cold yet passive.“Did you know?”

Which one? Adessa thinks. The fact that your Victor slashed open a sponsor or the fact that I helped her to cover it up for Games’ sake? “Is the thing you want to talk about worthy enough to make me stay in front of my door at the dawn of the day?”

Hera purses her lips at that, probably resisting an eye roll and honestly, Adessa can’t blame her for that. “You decide. Is the fact that the sponsor, who got murdered by my own Victor, the brother of the new President?” she asks and Adessa’s gaze sharpens.

(“Tell me about the details,” Adessa asked as they sat down on her couch. “Did you know who he was or he just was your first trial?”

Callista waits for a second and nods, meaning yes. “Wanted to play the hero for once, I suppose.”)

“Oh. That’s unfortunate.”

Hera looks at her as if she confessed that she carries the organs of the last tribute she dissected on the Arena in her body. “You don’t particularly seem surprised by it, may I ask why?”

Adessa almost grins at that, almost, but now she has to continue the small game Callista started. “Well, Snow is a new face, it is normal for a girl who got blinded by bloodlust wanted to intimidate him to cause us no harm. It’s a normal reaction from a curious girl, I would assume.”

(“Curiosity can also be channelled by doing morally good things like research or doing some form of art.” Iris had said one day, sipping on her tea on a lovely afternoon. “And no, torture doesn’t counts.” she adds with a small, dark smile, reminding Adessa why she still tolerated her disturbingly decent hearted mentor.)

Hera sighs. “It's a good narrative, but still risky.”

(“You think they will believe it?” Callita asks, slightly unsure underneath her skin but nothing comes to surface. Good enough. 

“People will believe what they want to believe.” Adessa waves a hand. “All you have to do i to give what they want to hear.”)

“Tell your Victor to behave then.” Adessa says bluntly. “I know, with no experience from myself means nothing to you, but perhaps she will listen if you give a serious one-on-one talk to her.”

“And what if it doesn’t?”

(Callista nods. “And if it doesn’t, I will just try harder until they do so.”)

Adessa shrugs. “It will if you try hard enough, she still is a human and has 206 bones and numerous systems under her skin. As unruly as she is, she will listen to you if she really wants to continue to thrive.”

(Just don’t let it happen again, dear.” Adessa says. “And we have a deal.”)

--

Darkest consequences, Adessa had learned through many hardships in the mentor station, haunts after most vicious lies.

 Her brand new Victor, Nero, is a living proof at that which only meant one thing—Coriolanus knew. He always knew who was behind the murder of his brother but still played along with it, looked her in the eye and insisted that she must try again to mentor in 42nd as well, even though it would be three in a row.

And here she is now, watching her boy getting crowned out of the Arena which offered nothing; no weapons, no good memories, no healing—just pain but he is alive, at least, he won’t be a corpse even if he was intended to be one by a frenemy of hers.

There is no coincidence in Panem and no good ending for the tributes who got the short end of the stick, so Callista also being here as an observer is a sweet twist in Snow’s bloody game.

 Now, as the trumpets echo through the screens, Callista turns to her, smile as sharp as the non-existent knives in her boy’s Arena and eyes as hard as the rocks he had smashed brains with. “Don’t worry,” she says. “I will remember to do your tricks when he comes up at my door, covered in blood.”