"At this point it feels like anyone's game," Marina said. "The obvious choice would be Cornelia, but I have found that those whose feelings are too entangled are less likely to win. They sometimes do something stupid. Hormones and all that." She sighed. And after the support she had given her, for her to throw it away would be frustrating.
"Do you think she might let the boy from three win? That would be a twist." He never understood why tributes let themselves get romantically involved. These feelings were only compounded upon during Holland's game. Holland and Aspen, Nico and Kit... it was a strong alliance at first, but things had so quickly fallen apart, and he didn't think Holland had been the same since. The games did that to a person but losing Aspen only could've made it worse. "Feelings complicate things..."
Archie looked up from his spot as Holland passed by, muting the coverage of the finale. "Are you staying in the Capitol for the off-season? Or are you going back to six?" He'd normally stay in the capitol, but he'd visit her in Six if she went back. "I'd visit, if you went back." Being back in her shop could only do her well. He wondered if she'd been in touch with Irene since she got out. Irene barely talked to him now, between their mothers' passing and Holland murdering a capitolite, she knew how to hold a grudge.
Marina watched as the nurse set the camp ablaze, sipping her iced coffee. She had sent her support and done her part, and now the Games were about to end. There was no more time for sponsor gifts and no more time to change loyalties. In the end, she wondered if she'd made the right choices. While all of this was going on in her mind, her expression was one of casual interest.
"I'll admit I hadn't put it together that the nurse was the one making all of the sacrifices," she said. "I had thought it was the caretaker."
"Quite a turn of events..." He agreed, "I had thought the same." Archie watched the screen with a lack of interest. He wasn't sure why he was watching anymore since Sawyer died. She was the only one he'd wanted to win. He should've gone and found Gideon or Cat. "Who do you think will win?" He gestured toward the screen, coffee mug in hand, before pivoting toward her. Paying more interest to her than he had on the finale.
She had once viewed the Tower as a prison, but now that she knew what real prison was like, she was enjoying herself much more. It also helped not to be marching towards the Arena, and in fact to be on the other side of it. All she had to do was force herself not to think about all of the things that had happened here eleven years ago, when she'd last set foot in this place.
The mutts in this one weren't particularly intense, so she'd had a soft start in designing, but that didn't mean she wasn't doing some extracurricular work. She sat at a table with a coffee in front of her and a sketchpad, creating some mockup sketches for future mutts. When someone got too close, she turned the pad over, tsking her tongue. "Ah-ah, no spoilers," she said.
Archie hadn't expected Holland to want anything to do with the games after her own and yet. He supposed it made sense, though. Between the Capitol's wants, her creativity and intelligence. It made sense things manifested as they did. He was sure she'd excel. He sat down beside her with his own mug of coffee. "I'm not looking." He couldn't say he wasn't curious, though.
Archibald “Archie” Westbrook (he/him). District Six Mentor. 79 Victor. 46. Oscar Isaac.
tw. mentions of domestic abuse, violence, drugs Archibald spent the first few years of his childhood in the slums of district six. While that happened to be most of the district, he lived further north (in what would be modern-day Ontario.) He was born to the Larsen family, Dora and Arnold, his mother and father. His father was hooked on morphling, and his mother held a bottle like a crutch. The days were cold, and the nights; even colder. In a small shack with no heat, they burned their trash to stay warm. To say he initially had a troubled childhood was an understatement.
Archie was only old enough to remember some of this time spent in limbo. To remember burning the tips of his fingers when his last match broke in half. Or to remember holding his baby brother close as their parents spewed vitriol at each other in their only room with a door. To remember picking a pocket for the first time and hearing praise where a child normally shouldn’t. But not old enough to remember his parents: just above a whisper, wondering if they could get Archibald’s name into the reaping bowl early just to get food on the table.
He was old enough to remember when his life changed for the better. His parents were screaming again, only this time, glass shattered, and he could’ve sworn he heard the one wood dresser snap into two mangled pieces. It was only thanks to a neighbor that Archie and Fredrick (his younger brother) ended up at a peacekeeper station. The two boys sat there for days before being sent to an orphanage on one of the great lakes. Archibald was adopted into another family, the Westbrooks. He gladly took their last name, settling into a new life in the city with two mothers (Laureen and Penelope) and a sister (Irene.) Life had turned out all too perfect for him.
He was old enough to remember when his life changed again, this time for the worse. He remembered the morning of the 79th reaping; his knuckles curled into the fabric of Penelope’s skirt. He was just 16; his name had only been put in three times. But that reality hadn’t stopped tears streaming down puffy red cheeks or the lump in his throat when he tried to protest and wriggle his hand out of Laureen’s before they left home to go to the reaping. He was afraid before his name was pulled and terrified after.
His games lasted 12 days in total. The arena featured tundra and an abandoned research facility. The late autumn breeze, rustling through the scattered birch trees reminded him of home – his first home. Only here, he had less than burnt trash to keep him warm. When the countdown finished, Archibald made for the treeline. One look at the Cornucopia told him it wasn’t worth it. And 11 cannons later, his decision became even more justified. He struggled to count the shots as he labored to breathe. He’d never run this fast, not even to outmaneuver a peacekeeper who had caught him stealing bread. No matter how far he ran, the screams from the bloodbath echoed. Sometimes, the farther he went, the louder they got. After two hours of on-and-off running, he passed out, his vision blurry and his breathing ragged. He woke up shivering that night on the forest floor. His only light, the faces of the fallen, displayed over the arena. At 2 am that morning he received an emergency blanket from a sponsor. There was a chance that he could make it home – to his true home.
Archie survived the rest of his arena with that blanket, a hunting knife he pulled out of a dead tribute, and anything he could loot off fallen tributes. The cold was unforgiving, dipping well into the negatives at night. At some point, he was able to locate his district member, Diana Martel. They’d planned to stick together if they found each other. There was peace, at least until she attacked him one morning. He still has a scar where the knife went through his hand. Plunging his knife into her chest would result in his only kill over the course of his games. He’d walked away covered in Diana’s blood, having stabbed her several times past death.
He’d managed through ice storms, quicksand, animal attacks, contaminated water, and collapsing buildings. The research facility had been underground. The main entrance was locked, but Archie found an alternative way in through a cave and a hole in a wall. – Like something had escaped. By the last day, three others remained when inhuman cries cut through the air. The arena ended just as it had begun, in screams.
Archibald came out of the games a different person. Whether or not it stunted him was a matter of debate amongst his parents and various therapists. He enjoyed the attention that came with his victory. He spent the next four years completing high school and training to be a better mentor. He barely knew anything going into the arena. He wanted to have that knowledge for future tributes. He maintains a knack for plant identification, other survival skills, and close-quarters combat. His victory tour inspired a love for travel, and by the time he was 18, he was barely in District Six anymore. He spent most of his time in the Capitol, only coming home for holidays. It was difficult for him to develop meaningful relationships outside of his family. Everyone wanted him for something, and few were clear about their intentions. Archie was in his 30s before he really developed any boundaries with the Capitol. While he was known as a “wild child” amongst many Capitolites, he never touched morphling, and his days of partying are (for the most part) behind him. His niece’s reaping, victory (and subsequent imprisonment), and the loss of his parents were both reality checks for him.
He wears his heart on his sleeve with those he’s known for a long time. The man is often down to earth unless there’s a circumstance where it isn’t wise to be (it often isn’t, in his experience.) He’s skeptical of newer mentors; though they might have skill, he finds they lack experience. He’s guilty of giving unsolicited advice from time to time.
— ⁺ 𝐎𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑 𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐀𝐂 , 1979 [ #580 GIFS ] SCENES FROM MARRIAGE / oscar isaac is guatemalan & cuban, please cast accordingly and use appropriately. all of the gifs have been created from scratch by me. to access the gifs please click the source link. do not edit, claim as your own or add into your own hunts! time and effort were spent into making these gifs, a like or a reblog would be much appreciated!
🪶 / in the source link below, you’ll gain access to #231 gifs of oscar isaac in triple frontier (2019). he was born in the year 1979 and is of cuban and guatemalan descent, so please cast appropriately when using my resources. all of these gifs were made from scratch, so you may edit these as much as you’d like, but please don’t redistribute or claim as your own. please refer to my rules for further information.
note: this pack is completely free and is also accessible through a zip file.
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