Themes: consumed by revenge, outlet for despair, seeking out control
While the others in the family view their current situation at La Cage as a huge disappointment and betrayal, Salme also takes it as a personal insult. Instead of wallowing in their own guilt or trying to make the best of the situation like the other Du Toits, Salme has morphed their emotions into romantic passion, anger, and violence. Their powerlessness in every sweatshop shift just charges them with something that needs to get out. Be it in the form of rabid fights, hanging around bars, or a combination of both. But adrenaline as the antidote for shame is getting less and less potent every day, and while Salme still manages to hunch their back in front of their employer, the leash they are straining on can not hold forever.
FULL GROUP TEXT
(mandatory for members of the group and Immigration Officers, optional for others - for example various other foreigners)
The immigrant housing occupies one whole wing of La Cage, the more decrepit one, hosting families that are far from home. People love creating distance between one another. Migrants from Graad and Oranje and some undocumented poor souls live here, stuck between horrible jobs in local sweatshops and old dreams. All together, squashed under one roof, the various cultures are clashing and mixing with each other, while everyone is still trying to maintain a sense of belonging. But is it even possible to call La Cage home?
The Den used to gather local elders to play card games - a good excuse to gamble, drink beer, and of course, gossip. A few years ago, card games became suddenly trendy, and many local youngsters joined the Den. But the way they played was totally different: they were loud, bold, aggressive, seeking for adrenaline, wagering way too big. Now, the elders have all left the Den to these gambling freaks. Stakes are high and are becoming even higher. And soon it will be too late to back off.
The North Wing Crew is a fresh local La Cage street posse, that took on a legacy of a previous crew during a power vacuum, centered around the Immigrant wing. Always sporting the orange color and patched jackets, keeping it fresh and always reciting some experimental dope bars while blasting loud and aggressive music on the corners of their turf and having a life-long rivalry with a South Side Crew group. They spend their time not only spray-marking their territory and coming up with lit insults and rhymes, but also often making bold claims about how they will fuck the South Side Crew up, and then have to fulfill that promise. After all, they fight from the position of the underdogs, who are going to show the fancy-ass Apartment people, who are the real deal here.
