ofmentorship

[ofmentorship]

ooc. i have no real plans this weekend so expect a lot of catch up between blogs. i've finished iron flame, started acotar but i wanna get caught up as christmas comes. i know it's gonna steal attentions when my brother is down.

[ofmentorship]

continued from [ here ] w/ @wcrriorhearts

🍺 ───── he understood her methods. she was getting herself sorted in regards to what was real, what wasn't, who was who. what she knew and what was .... fabricated, right? he could not imagine what she may have suffered at the hands of the capitol but it was clear she had not been spared those horrors. maybe some, but not all. his head began to nod as she spoke his name. "that's what they call me." he offered as he relaxed on the spot but he left it at that. he'd try his best to refrain from the overly sarcastic matters with her. she was already having a hard enough time.

it was a simple word response to how she was doing that she offered to him and he wasnt' so sure he bought it. because in all honest ... were any of them actually good. "good, huh?" he spoke as he brought his hands together and nodded again before he was looking towards her. "gonna have to share with the class then, cause i sure as hell ain't." he offered lightly although honestly sobriety, while nice, was also hard as hell. specially right now.

[ofmentorship]

🍺 ───── at least she was honest right? wouldn't be so great to be lied to because this was not some fun little game, this was a death sentence for 99% of the people stepping into that arena. only one would walk away, and they'd never ever be the same for it. he leaned forwards some and he allowed his gaze to focus on her and remain there but he was lost in thoughts at the back of his mind as she spoke. she agreed with him? that distance wasn't such a terrible tactic. why band together as twelve, they wouldn't do each other any favours, large groups were just large targets. or a back stabbing fest waiting to happen. either way he wanted no part in that horror show. if he was going to have to fight to the death with someone he knew, he wanted them to see it come, have the same chance he did, and if they worked together at any point it would be a moment of necessity, it wouldn't last. "i'm not much of a fighter. i can hold my own with a blade, but...." but he was no career and just because he was male didn't mean he had the best stamina. the mines worked for strength but they killed the lungs.

haymitch searched her features before he was rubbing his hands together. "you really mean all that don't you? have to admit i appreciate the straight forward honestly, lucy gray." he spoke as he looked to her again. "was winning even worth it?" he asked simply.

𝚃𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙸𝚂𝙽'𝚃 𝙼𝚈 𝚂𝚃𝚈𝙻𝙴. she could relate to that. similar to her own words to her mentor years ago. " all of what you're saying is exactly how you should go about things. i couldn't kill someone from twelve in my games . . . " not my district. not my home. just district twelve. because her home would never be in the districts or the capitol. and she hoped that one day she could get away from all of this.

" i'm not suggesting anythin' like that . . . it'll only prolong the inevitable. it'll hurt less if you keep your distance when those canons go off. create your own safe . . . secure place and wait out or don't. fight if you want to. if that's your style. or don't. wait it out. " lucy gray feels as though she should add more. because what kind of advice is that? " back in my games there were less than twenty-four by the time we stepped foot into the arena . . . and even less seconds after they began. "

her gaze falls downward as she lets out a sigh. " and yes, i know that my words are not going to help you in the arena so . . . i don't even know why i'm sayin' 'em. " her shoulders lift in a shrug, " i guess 'm here to see if ya' got anythin' you wanna ask me? i just might have the answer . . . "

[ofmentorship]

🍺 ───── if there was ever a word he might describe johanna with it would be a loud dangerous but loyal asset. she toed the line and he was knew that she was someone they wanted on their side, between her and finnick's combat skills they would be able to do everything they could to keep peeta and katniss alive. as he drew his drink more towards himself he licked his lips before wetting them more thoroughly with the beverage in his hand.

johanna had known for how long and was already firing off questions like a rocket, was probably why he was cautious to even tell her at all, too early anyway. "well, there's a thing or two you could learn from finnick, it's why he may or may not know things." he offered waving his drink before he brought it to his lips and quickly downed it once more.

his gaze settled on johanna, "you need to stop askin' so much questions and just ... play the part. do what is asked, be a spectacle when needed and do what we need when the time is right." he spoke firmly. he felt his lips flutter as he exhaled a breath and then licked his lips quickly, "katniss will know what she needs to know." a cryptic answer all the same but all that she needed to know right now.

“ Not fair you horde it all for yourself, you won’t be fighting for your life in a few days. ” She hadn’t bothered looking at the label of the bottle that she had snatched from the table, pouring herself a hefty drink. It’s not like it mattered, or that she had to worry about her health. The sound of parties outside of the training center was carried on with the wind. How easy it was for them to party, as if they did anything else as if their pitiful little lives mattered at all. “ So what exactly is the plan? Finnick has made sure to be vague, as he does best. ”

A finger moving over the rim of the glass, she plucked a cherry tomato, plopping it into her mouth. She had a good idea that this little plan would revolve around the star-cross lovers, the whole story was perfect for the Capitol. Something that these brain-dead morons would eat up, happy to get their grubby little hands off on a lovely story between two poor little District 12 kids.

As if they still won’t be happy to watch them bleed and die, now in a whole new setting. It will be the perfect television show. “ Will she know? How much I wonder? ” Crossing her arms on the table, she had leaned forward, a wicked little smile tittering on her lips before she leaned back, fingers focused on the glass, taking another sip.

for @ofmentorship from the starter call / accepting!

[ofmentorship]

🍺 ───── there's a silence between them probably because they were both in that same boat. should they bother to cross the line now? what was the point? that's what he was thinking anyway. saying anything now, acting on anything now, would it mean anything? or just be a sweet more painful goodbye than it was already.

she couldn't possibly think he'd survive this, could she? he really hoped, ironic given his thought process, that she didn't have hope. hope would break her heart more than a goodbye, surely. what could he say, would it even matter? was there any real point, or was it all just a cruel sort of joke now. no doubt someone was laughing, but it wasn't him.

there was an exhale as she asked him that simple promise that he wasn't even sure he could offer up. more than ever he felt a drink could take the edge off, but a hangover was bound to get him killed. head began to nod even as it caused a few strands of hair to fall across his eye line while he looked up towards her. "i promise." he had to keep his head clear to katniss. that had to be the focus now as he dared to adjust his arms bringing himself in closer to effie. "you have to keep that kid from doing anything stupid." he spoke as he released her arm and reached up fingers coming towards her cheek as he leaned his head forwards giving her a serious look.

there was something hidden in his words but he couldn't ... tell her. even if he wanted too. less that knew the better for all of them. "i need you to promise that, he's going to want to, think we both know that. watch him."

gentle intonations hit her like a ton of bricks. the light brush of his hand against her arm merely adds weight. she could count on one hand the times she's seen anything or anybody evoke such tender mannerisms in him. it's ridiculous to think that he should be the one comforting her.

she's fought back her tears with a valiant effort by the time she's able to meet his eyes again. that colour blue ━━ will she ever see it again? her heart drops. don't be. the silence that follows is deafening. she could offer him a thousand apologies and still it would mean nothing now, wouldn't it?

clearing her throat, her accented voice is slightly stronger ━━ if still audibly pained ━━ when she speaks next: " promise me you won't go into that arena with anything less than a clear head. " he's got more reasons than ever before to pick up the bottle, after all, and every one of them are going to be at his throat in a few days' time.

[ofmentorship]

🍺 ───── every year. same song and dance. things never changed, and while in the past 20 odd years he may have grown accustom to the song and learned the trick of each carefully choregraphed dance, he had yet to truly blend with effie. they were less a team more a make shift mess of it. not that haymitch ever really put too much effort forward. another year, another game, another crash and burn for district twelve. that was just the truth of it. plan and simple. death was inevitable.

"let me guess." he spoke between large gulps of the drink that he held in his hand before he was turning towards fellow mentor. "you believe you may have a winner this time? district four right?" they were here as interviews began, and after this they'd strategize and he'd make friends with people with money, although unlikely, he'd send what he could sponsors and all that but it was just part of that dance. it never amounted to anything. four had won plenty of games, helped to be a career district although he wasn't sure the man before him was one of the die hard ones, he'd still pulled a win off in his time, hadn't he? and no one probably died for it. outside of the games of course. lucky him.

closed starter for @twcheaded ( for ash )

[ofmentorship]

🍺 ───── this was one of those moments as he sat across from peeta that he wondered what he should even say or if there was anything to be said now. his hand reaching up and brushing along his jaw before he breathed out. he cleared his throat finally and let his one hand drop towards the arm of the chair as the other brought a much needed sip of his drink to his lips. as he savored it he lowered it and finally brought himself to sit up properly and lean forwards as his gaze fell upon peeta.

"you need to talk to her." he spoke finally. the alliances she was proposing were .... every time she shot him down ( even though he was working his own angles ) it was a hurtle he had to work around. every time she picked as she did and denied his options he had to work in the background just that much harder. "she might actually listen when you talk, cause what i say goes in one ear and comes out in a smart ass remark." he shrugged even as he let himself fall back into his chair, it was amusing, most days. but this game was different. not the either of them realized it.

closed starter for @gamehaunt

[ofmentorship]

[insp] [insp]

[ofmentorship]

specify if you're a multi. if it's not obvious specify a time line you want to interact within ( he does have a young fc). if i'm struggling i may jump into your dms to plot.

[ofmentorship]

🍺 ───── even if there was a plan at work here, he was about to enter a platform where he was not best suited for survival. he would likely take his last breaths in the next few days, but if he was able to keep katniss alive long enough to get her out perhaps that would be his victory. their allies would be more important than ever, but how badly would he slow her down?

everything was in fast paced motion, and when they reached their quarters, it would be only a couple days before they were thrust into the playing field. as he felt her grasp remaining upon his arms he reached one hand up and fingers brushed her exposed elbow carefully up towards her upper arm. "effie." he spoke her name in a low hushed manner meant only for her. a softness beyond the sarcastic manner he used as a front from his emotional shield.

his head gave a careful nod. for the kids. it was for the kids. katniss would get out alive, even if it .... killed him to do it. "what's ever been fair for a district, why would they start now?" he inquired in light sarcastic manner doing his best to not be too heavy but well he couldn't help it. "don't be." because her being sorry, her looking at him like that, made this harder. as if he wasn't already telling himself this was goodbye before it ever really .... went anywhere. goodbye to almost.

her life's work, her joy, her purpose ━━ it's all become a knife through the heart in a matter of hours. she can see it in his eyes, the horror of reliving the pain he faced in his youth all over again. bearing it with katniss. and to think she would have to sit there at peeta's side, watch helplessly as they fight to keep each other alive ... it's enough to knock the air from her body.

she keeps a hold on him as though she could keep him here forever, shield him from the horrors that await him. the children will be along soon, and they'll need her to be strong for them. determined ━━ if she can manage it. but for now, there's no fighting the tears that well in her eyes as she casts a glance toward the floor.

" i can't say i don't understand it. for peeta, for katniss ... " she dabs at her eye. her voice cracks subtly under the weight of her sadness. " it just isn't fair. i'm so sorry, haymitch. "

[ofmentorship]

"Then he reads the list of past District 12 victors. In seventy-four years, we have had exactly two. Only one is still alive." ― Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

[ofmentorship]

🍺 ───── there was no assurances even here now as they knocked down walls in their make shift rebellion to overthrow the capitol, or at least the man in charge of it. tomorrow seemed more unlikely than ever before, didn't it? more than perhaps even as he faced his own potential death in that gave twenty five years ago. even as that blade sliced through him and by a tracing bit of luck and intelligence he managed to continue breathing. others had not, unfortunately, his survival had caused the down fall of many he loved.

honestly, he could understand and relate more to katniss then she'd ever fully realized. snow took everything from him, he never wanted to see her face that same cruelty, but he understood her struggle against him.

there was an honest laugh as she commented on his ability to cause 'accidents' plenty for the both of them. usually too drunk to really think properly on it, that was for sure. "oh i recall." he confessed and he'd be a straight out liar if he said it hadn't been to purely cause her a little chaos and trouble in their early years together. he'd been in his twenties, alone, frustrated and she got a brunt of a lot of his troubles.

those fingers pull him back as she brushes his hand and he looks towards her, did he look good? he honestly felt he looked like a lost soul, sober enough to wonder aimlessly now. his hand turned just enough that it could take a slight grasp of her own as he brought himself forwards slowly causing less of a gap between them. "still workin' on the feeling part." because he didn't feel better. sobriety was like a harsh wake up in a cruel world he'd shut out a long time ago. it was both good and bad.

they had come from two different worlds. she can see it more clearly now, painful as it may be. she had come from extreme nationalism and wealth and luxury. he had come from pain, struggle, and loss. all the times she had been frustrated with him ━━ she couldn’t always see through the fog of her upbringing. now, the truth unravels to her further and further, one day at a time. he had never truly won a thing. none of them had. her whole life's work ━━ what had it all meant?

right from the beginning, she had viewed him as the classic stereotype of a man from district twelve and he had viewed her as a shallow capitol woman. they had never existed in the same reality. but they're in the same reality now. the same dark, chilling reality.

the genuine laugh she elicits from him has been a rare sound through the years. it has a soft, amused smile of her own playing at her features as she offers a gentle reminder : " if you'll recall, you managed your fair share of accidents regardless. " another pause hangs in the air as she reaches across, brushes her hand over the back of his. from playful to something more honest. " you look well, haymitch. truly. "

[ofmentorship]

🍺 ───── this was how the story goes, another year another chance to fight for your life like it was a gift. what a bit of luck he had ending up in not just the hunger games but the quarter quell. where his chance of surviving went from one out of twenty-three to double that. may the odds be ever in your favor, bunch of bullshit wasn't it? the odds were in the favor of districts that trained for this, career districts, it was just a bunch of dumb luck that anyone outside of survived that, and only one person from twelve had ever one. the woman who spoke his name and stood before him now.

how had she won? dumb luck just as he coined it? definitely. although come to think of it there wasn't a lot of record about the tenth hunger games, embarrassed by a twelve winning? tongue dragging over his lips as he looked up to her his shoulders shrugged and his arms gestured. he hadn't run because he didn't see the point.

his head began to nod and hands gestured some. "seem to be." he offered as if there could be another around here somewhere. "the infamous district twelve winner, lucy gray baird." he spoke her name as if he knew anything about her, but he didn't. which was so damn odd, wasn't it? spoke to the odds of the whole damn thing. was all stupid anyway. "come to tell me how you pulled off the impossible, or just say you're sorry and tell me it'll be alright?"

@ofmentorship . Haymitch gets a starter

When Lucy Gray had appeared at the reaping for the first time, three years after her victory, she had half expected Coriolanus to send peacekeepers to her door. For weeks after the 13th Hunger Games, she thought he would kill her, somehow. But then, he didn't.

She kept his secrets.

37 years later, she was still alive, and he was still President. It was a strange status quo. She had children now, and every year she feared their names might get picked at the reaping. And every year, her relief was only short-lived. Yes, her children were safe, but she still had two tributes to protect. Somebody else's kids, who might never come back home. And for 37 years, she kept being the only mentor. How could the tributes of District 12 stand a chance, with their famished bodies and inexperienced hands.

This year, however, was worse than ever. Four children. Four.

"Hello there," she said gently, sitting down in front of the only tribute who hadn't run to their cabin as soon as they boarded the train that was quickly ripping them away from their homes. "You're Haymitch Abernathy, aren't you?"

[ofmentorship]

I realized then that's the worst thing you can do for them... make friends with them. 'Cause they get comfortable with you, they're just gonna end up getting killed.

[ofmentorship]

spotify wrapped has arrived. send me a number from 1-100 for a starter based on that song, or a lyric from it, or send a 🎁 for me to shuffle. ╰┈➤ song: this is me trying by tayl.or sw.ift 🎁 sent by @esc0rted

🍺 ───── the unexpected assassination of coin had flipped things right on their head. his agreement to return to district twelve with katniss as her guardian was the one way to keep her alive, a sacrifice worth making for the most part. it was like a hot dagger of will he or won't he fall back into that utter pit of liquor to ease any turmoil he felt about the whole thing. the hardest part of it all had been the most unexpected ( especially if someone told him years ago he'd even feel this way ) was how much he missed effie trinket. the unexpected, bright capitol statement in all her utter glory.

saying good-bye had been hard and yet he had hoped she would take every word to heart, come see him, even if district 12 wasn't exactly her speed. yeah, not that he might admit it right out but he missed her. he wanted to see her, he almost wished he had been able to stand up and ask her to come with him and yet he hadn't. he had just said simply; don't be a stranger.

And it's hard to be at a party when I feel like an open wound It's hard to be anywhere these days when all I want is you You're a flashback in a film reel on the one screen in my town

that was enough to make a man consider a relapse, among the fact that he was back in twelve, which was filled with enough ghosts for him from family, and friends, to the woman who once stood on a stage here and called out the honored tributes. his lips pressed together thinly and his head shook. "not like ya woulda come now would ya?" he spoke to the dust of the room he stood in raising his glass but he didn't drink. this is me trying. a simple ideal as he brushed his fingers along the rim.

[ofmentorship]

🍺 ───── this was a girl, or woman whatever worked best in that moment, who had been at the side of a cruel leader. a dangerous leader. a vengeful leader. one who did not care if he took life to get what he wanted, when he wanted. he'd succeeded in remaining where he was for a reason. he was not to be taken lightly but there was a real movement now, and they needed to take these steps. the one before them now? she was something that could be asset if they figured out how to use that to their adventure.

he gave an amused laugh, sure there was no denying to him that katniss was something of a puppet, hell even katniss wasn't stupid enough to think that coin wasn't using them to some extent. everyone who had power, or wanted power, had an agenda. even coin. she preached her peace venture and choice for the people but there was more there, there was always going to be more. without someone to love and ground a person, remind them of a goodness, they were bound to allow the vines of corruption win. snow and coin had no one, haymitch didn't believe for a second one so interchangeable but snow had to be handled first. the people would make choices after that.

"yeah yeah, we're all puppets for the leaders who don't get out on the field right, so what's your thing, huh? why does snow keep you so close, he doesn't strike me as the sort buying romantic favors, so you're good for something else. thing is i can't quite decide what that is? a really good yes ma'am, or what? get your hands dirty a few times for the old president?"

@hijckcd

he didn't know. clearly the woman they were following was not as forthcoming as she was letting onto be. apart of her wanted to keep it buried. leave that as an ace in her deck. but at the mention of peeta , well , not even the years of training even prior to the capitol's control could withhold the subtle smirk that etched at the outer corner of her lips. a sick twisted sense of pride that came with being the reason what had happened to peeta did not leave him naught more than ashes at the bottom of a cremation furnace. hell , they should be thanking her in that case. god how twisted the man had manipulated her mind.

❛   saw that trick ? i ––   ❜ albeit she was unable to use her arms , her tongue was forged from the same knife that she'd used in her games to slit the throats of many who had crossed her path. one that , even near six years on , had yet to dull. and the pompous nature of her tone spoke volumes by which she was molded once in the capitol's bloody hands. it is before she is able to speak further on the subject , the clearing of a man's throat that cut the train of thought cora was barreling down towards. hastily casing her to note that the two of them would not be alone forever in this room and her words would best be chosen carefully.

❛   you look at me like a puppet , and you can call me one all you want to , but you fail to see you and your precious mockingjay that started this losing war are exactly the same as i am.   ❜