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@jovedeclan
Ashton Declan. 28. District 4 mentor and victor of the 113th biannual hunger games.
" i have had horrible nightmares ever since. last night i dreamed i was shot but there were no wounds. i kept having to convince people there were bullets breaking up my back bone. — i have no right to be this tragic, to have a brain like a broken record ."
pinterest. bio. spotify. panem.
Ashton ⛱️, 28
📍district 4
💼 mentor
Big fan of romantic walks on the beach, love, being loved, and making others feel loved. I want us both to eat well. Let me cook for you, homegrown greens 🥗 and freshly caught protein 🎣
📏 5'11" | ⭐ Scorpio | 🍷 Socially | 🚬 Sometimes | 🐾 Yes | 👶 No
With the excitement of the evening still at play -- a dull echo of execution and other atrocities -- Kaiko had found few people were in the mood for warm welcomes or new introductions. How could he blame them? To see violence was to reckon with it within one's self, to make space for it in between organs and within bone's marrow. Kaiko felt swollen with it. A heavy weight: the accumulation of an education one should never learn.
And his own education, forsaken. Forfeited, though not by choice. To be in the Tower was a painful reminder of the selves he would never know: a tribute, a victor, whatever came after (coupled with glory). So he was biding his time. A cup of coffee, too late in the day. A worn copy of a book he'd read a dozen times before. Kaiko? He turned, fingers lingering on the page, indenting what was already water-stained and worn. "Ash?" The movement was swift, leaving both items on the counter, his place in the book lost as it closed carelessly. Kaiko pulled Ashton into a hug, relieved. It was the first familiar face he'd seen. "I thought you were working with Eleven?" A lop-sided grin, realizing he had missed quite a bit in the past few months. Hadn't Ashton been mentoring for another district? Giving them a fighting chance against the likes of their home? "Finally came to your senses, took pity on Four, and came back, or what?"
Ashton wrapped his arms around him, though he'd been cautious of the moment, Kai was still his student for a time. And of course, he was happy to see him, even under odd circumstances. He patted his back once or twice before pulling away. His hand lingered on his shoulder for a moment.
There wasn't a great way to answer that, and he hesitated half of a second longer than he'd liked. "I was helping another, newer mentor out for a little bit." This wasn't entirely a lie. He kept Rush's name out of it, feeling a strong sense of protection over the kid. "You get closer to people in other districts while you're here." 132 was still a sore spot for him; both those kids died in the bloodbath... almost as soon as the countdown ended. "Four was fine without me for a bit, especially with academy training and Rio." Rio was still learning, but he was mean enough to make most careers listen.
"..." He didn't know how to approach what'd happened back home, how to approach the changes that had taken place. "I thought you joined the coast guard? What brought you here?"
"Of course I feel responsible," Everett said defensively, a harsh tone in his voice that he didn't necessarily intend to be there. Ash meant well, of course, but Everett's strengths had never been in the emotional realm. "And I am trying. They need me, all three of them, and they have me. I'm working damn hard. I'm selling it like they're competing, you know, sponsors can bet one which Brick they think is most likely to win, that kind of thing. It's all disgusting, but it's a plan. It's my plan. That's what I'm doing, that's what I'm best at." And he didn't even know if he thought he was very good at it. It was what he'd been doing for a few years with one success and a lot of failures.
He parted his lips when he heard Everett's tone shift. "Ev, that's not how I-- I wasn't trying to say you didn't, or you aren't. I was just thinking out loud." Ashton reached out his hand to him as he finished talking, his palm up-- knuckles sliding across the countertop-- offering to be held. It was a good plan, disgusting, yeah, but it was smart.
"I'm going to level with you, Ev, this pack doesn't sit right with me." It wasn't that he'd been dishonest at all. It was on his chest, and he needed to say it. Ash needed another perspective, feeling unable to trust his own intuition. He knew packs were never totally safe, and he knew things normally worked out the way they were meant to, he couldn't shake the feeling his games left him with--particularly when it came to this pack.
Mason enjoyed being on the rooftop alone. Snow was one of his favorites things so if he had any free time in the tower he would spend it on the roof watching the snow drop around him. It was therapeutic to him and made him feel better after a long, stressful day. He was then brought out of his thoughts when he heard a familiar voice speaking to him.
A friendly smiled appeared on his face as he went to greet the mentor from four but it immediately dropped at his warning. "What?" Mason quickly said, clearly blindsided by what he said. "T-that's not true.. Caspian and I are friends." He argued. "Why would he be nice to me if we weren't?"
"Well--" Ash took a deep breath, looking out at the city-- watching the steam of his breath dissipate like cigarette smoke-- before looking back at Mason. He didn't know where to start with a question like that. Especially here, "there are people, in and around the Games, that are good to you for their benefit. People who want to take advantage of you." Mason wasn't like many careers he met, and while he found it incredibly refreshing, Ash wondered how Mason had managed so long with such innocence.
"Cas is playing a game, and he's playing to win." Ashton turned to him, then. "You need to start doing the same; if you want out of this."
"Uh." Her eyes looked up and down the wooden staff. It was taller than her and it looked heavy to boot. River didn't have the slightest clue on what to do with it, hadn't even known that it was a weapon, but the man's offer--which she supposed was kind, considering he was not part of her team--had caught her by surprise while she had been circling the training centre aimlessly. Her hand reluctantly reached out to grip the staff. "The hell are you even supposed to do with something like this?"
"You'd be surprised--" Ashton paused almost as soon as he started, cocking his head with a squint when he saw how tall the staff was compared to her. "Hold on, if that's too tall for you, try this instead." He gently let go of the staff River was holding but kept a hand close just in case. With his other hand, he reached back toward the staff rack to grab a shorter one, only slightly taller than her. "If that doesn't work, try this," Ash offered her the second option, looking back over at her.
He held the staff in his hand, taking a moment to feel its weight. It was lighter than he had expected, solid throughout, and with no notable balance point. He took a few practice swings, holding it like a baseball bat. "Sounds good," he said, glad for the help.
"Oh, uh, I'm Courtney. Ganhador." He hadn't quite gotten used to being labeled by his District, but he supposed that's how most people would view him. "Just trying to get back home, you know?"
"Courtney," he repeated to commit it to memory. "I'm Ashton." There was a thought to say 'Ash' instead or not introduce himself at all. "I do," Ash offered a sad smile, his eyebrows knitting closer together. "Determination is a big part of it." So were chance and other outside influences, but he was sure Greer told him more than enough.
Ashton stood back, watching Courtney for a moment as he got comfortable using the staff. His sad smile grew into a grin. He meant nothing by it, observing him more than he was judging. "Almost," Ash squared up beside him. His feet, separated a bit wider than the length of his shoulders, his right foot pointed forward. "Spread your hands out... this is one standard grip..." his hands separated the weapons into thirds, both hands palm down. He moved relatively slowly so Courtney could copy his movements.
"Though, I'm partial to this one," he lowered his hands on the staff, one hand a hand-width above the bottom of the staff and his palm down. His other hand, closer to the middle of the weapon, and his palm up. "Where this gives you more coverage, balance, and momentum behind some of your strikes," he switched his hand positionings back to the first grip. "This gives you more stick to work with, it's more flexible, and you can get more range on your opponent." Back to the second... one palm up, one down. "While you can always move your hands and alternate, I'd only choose one grip to start out with, whatever feels more comfortable."
Ashton glanced over at him, an eyebrow raised. "What's at home for you?" He wasn't sure whether he would regret asking or not. But the fact that Courtney was trying was a good sign. Some tributes shut down instead of trying.
@masonxxbrick reacted for a thread !!
Ashton bundled into his coat as the elevator doors opened to the rooftop gardens. He didn't usually smoke once training started, but his cravings won him over. He lit a cigarette while he walked, failing to realize the light snow that'd begun to fall until he stood still, leaning up against the elevated concrete ledge overlooking the Capitol. He didn't expect to look over and see Mason. Ash didn't know Mason very well, but they were acquaintances -- friendly ones. It was hard not to be friends with Mason, he thought. And maybe it was hard for Mason not to want to be friends with people. Which is why he spoke without a preamble, stubbing his cigarette on the concrete.
"You should be careful with Caspian, he's not your friend." Between his conversation with Caspian and his conversation with Everett, the games were weighing on him more than they already had. And while part of him wanted to see Cas win, he wanted Mason to have a chance.
Caspian scoffed. "No chance. She's a rogue volunteer, not ready for the big leagues, and it's not my fault she was stupid. I'm not going to align myself with her, I'm stronger on my own. If I wanted someone watching my back, I would find someone -- but if someone's watching your back, they can see you're holding a knife behind it."
"If that's how you want to--" Ash stopped talking as soon as he started, as though he hadn't heard Caspian right, or he had heard Caspian right, and he didn't like what he heard. "Did you ever w--" 'Did you ever watch my games? Did you see what happened to my district partner?'. He didn't want to talk about his games. He didn't want to think about them. "You're not going to try and turn the pack on each other, are you? You know what happens if you fail." He could fail, too, easily. The other career districts seemed to have stronger bonds this time. Four against one weren't good odds; Ash was sure he didn't need to spell it out for him.
"Honestly, I have no idea," he admitted. He had been trying to avoid a heart-to-heart with Miller, as it was so out of his element. "I know I should try to be there for him, but... I mean, you know me. That's not really my thing." Family drama was enough when it was his own family; and even then, he usually avoided it.
Ash couldn't blame him; he didn't doubt it'd be a difficult conversation to have. "Shit puts us to the test, you know?" He paused, "but sometimes I think we're better for it." Better than they were yesterday, better than they were in the weeks after they'd won their games. But he saw it as an act of repentance that others may not have, deeply ashamed of what he'd done. "...it's the effort that counts."
"I don't know, don't you feel kind of responsible for him? After mentoring, after he won? I mean They need someone there, I needed someone, you needed someone, and right now I think, whether he wants to admit it or not, he needs someone."
It was hard to decide where to go in the Training Arena. Did you stick to something you felt confident in, so as to scare others off? Did you go to something new, at the risk of showing off a weakness? Did you go to a popular station, since clearly everyone saw value in it?
Court chose to go where the lull was. He cautiously took the staff from the man, who looked oddly familiar. "May as well," he said. He wasn't quite sure what all he'd be able to do with a glorified stick, but it was possible it would be the only thing he could get in the Arena.
"Is this an offensive kind of thing? Or should I stay more defensive with it?"
"It's versatile... you can block, disarm, hit, create distance, even sharpen the end into a spear." Ash grabbed another staff for himself before nodding toward the mats. Of all weapons, he thought any kind of staff was best to learn, efficient and relatively beginner friendly. "It's all in how you use it. I'll show you some stances, take you through some steps. It's kind of intuitive once you get the hang of it." Ashton glanced over at him while they walked, catching the Ten on his sleeve. If he wasn't wearing the tribute uniform, he could've mistaken him for a new trainer. "What's your name, Ten?"
TASK 006. ERAS.
1980s (x) You're an '80s kid at heart. You belong in the decade where Michael Jackson first showed off the moonwalk, Michael Jordan played for the Bulls, MTV reached its heyday, and you blasted U2 and Guns N' Roses on your walkman.
"You're not crawling under my blankets, right?" Rio snorted. "Ash, we're not that close. Take me to dinner first, then I'll think about it." The only option for Rio was to do fine. That was the basic settings he operated on. At best, he ran on comfortable numbness; at worst, it was anger and cruelty he was fueled by. Ash had caught him on one of his better days. Caspian was better than Spela and Axel combined, he wasn't that worried.
"Not in your dreams, Odair." Ash retorted, shaking his head and squinting with a semblance of a chuckle. What Rio said confused him more than anything, unsure why he decided to go there instead of answering his question. "Maybe if I wasn't already invited to your parents dinner parties." -- If he wasn't closer to Finnick and Annie than he was to Rio. -- He'd had a hand in training Rio since he was 15, or roughly around there, he was still trying to see him as a friend rather than a student. He couldn't imagine anything else.
It was somehow a harder question to answer. Everett found being genuine difficult, and when others were genuine with him, he was simultaneously distrustful and unsure what to do with it. But Ashton was a true friend, and he offered him a very slight smile in return. "Thanks," he said. "I appreciate it. It's... it's really a shit situation. I've got both brothers saying they'll die, and I don't really know what to do with that. I want one of them to win, at the very least, but I'm not sure if they have it in them to watch the other die. You know?" He had seen friends die in the Arenas, people he'd known for a few weeks, and it had been nearly impossible to handle. He couldn't imagine it with his siblings.
Ash could only nod at Ev's analysis of the situation. It sounded almost impossible. At least both the Atlantica sisters had gone in with the mindset of winning, even if they'd lost. They didn't really know what they'd do if the other died but were prepared to ignore the reality until it happened. Not that he could judge them for it, he couldn't begin to imagine Cleo (his sister) in the arena. He rubbed at the side of his neck to self-soothe. "Yeah."
He could barely watch when Thetis died, seeing Dice's reaction to having to leave her... it cut him deep, but he could only guess how Sirena felt during all of it. "How's Miller handling it?" He sighed, "you and Cain, you," he didn't necessarily doubt Cain's abilities, but Ev was older, more mature, and if anyone was the glue in Two's team, it was him, "you're gonna have to keep him close after all this."
Lex almost wanted to laugh at the offer. Not with malicious intent, or mockingly, but out of surprise. It rarely happened that a trainer or mentor even vaguely challenged him to try out anything during training. He was only passing by, one short walk through the center on his way somewhere else. "I did not think your resentment for Gamemakers extends to potentially humiliate by making them demonstrate their skills. Existing or non-existent."
"No, I uh..." Ashton chuckled uneasily—an embarrassed blush creeping up his neck and onto his face. It was visible in the tank top he wore. He set the end of the staff on the floor to lean on it. Offering a sparring session to Lex wasn't something Ash thought through. Still, he tried to recover with a sheepish grin. "You don't have any training from your career days left in you?" He did have to admit he was curious. "I'll go easy on you; let you warm up first. Who knows, maybe you'll beat my ass."
Everett tried for a smile but fell short by quite a bit. It was difficult to fake being happy about the situation they were all in right now -- the situation that, namely, Smith and Mason had put them in -- and he was tired of pretending to be excited. 133 was bound to be painful no matter what happened. "Ah, it depends on who you ask," he said with a sigh. "Officially? Very happy to have two excellent Careers representing us."
Ashton's slight smile dissipated when Everett's failed. "I'm asking you, unofficially, as your friend." It wasn't long before his hand found his shoulder again. He had his own tributes to look after, but he cared about Ev; he knew Mason and Miller, and their tributes had already started putting together an alliance. He fucking hated the situations in the games put them in. That he was meant to factor them into his decisions and his relationships. "I know I have my own house to keep in order, but you're always welcome there." He meant it figuratively as much as he did literally.
"Of course I'll be ready," Caspian snapped, annoyed that Ashton would even say as much. The thought that he was in any way unprepared for what he was facing was just insulting. He'd been preparing for this for ten years. "Well, Alecta is in charge of Cyril, I know that much," he said. "So the power is hers there. The Bricks will likely have each other's backs as well. So I'm the odd man out, since we all know my dear partner's not gonna make the cut." He rolled his eyes. "But that's an advantage, in my view. I don't have to worry about feelings or looking out for anyone but myself. I'm not watching anyone else's back in there."
Ashton rose an eyebrow when Cas snapped. He didn't think he said anything to take issue with. He sighed, stretching as he sat forward on the couch. "However you thought I meant that... I don't doubt your abilities, you've worked hard to get here." --'Harder than most in the academy.' To others he might've said it with some amount of bite, but he meant it genuinely here. Doing what Cas did for the sake of the hunger games dumbfounded him, and while he wouldn't pretend to understand, Ash did have some respect for it. "I'm just worried." Maybe it was just the past couple days, maybe he was still jumpy about career packs from his own games, but something didn't sit right with him.
"And no one is watching your back--" He glanced up at the hallway to the bedrooms before finishing the thought quietly. Ash was pretty sure she was still training, but just in case. "If your partner makes it through the bloodbath I think you should bring her into the pack, or bring her in now." He thought leaving her out of it was a bad idea. "You're more of a target by yourself."
