masonxxbrick

[masonxxbrick]

Mason was wandering when someone sitting alone had caught his eye. Instantly recognizing his old friend Fulvia, he smile and quickly walked in her direction. Though as he got closer, his smile dropped and he froze as he saw the girl cradling some sort of.. creature. And his shock must've been obvious as the girl began speaking.

"Oh, cool!" Mason said nervously before sitting down by her. It was nice to hear that she was harmless and wouldn't try to fly in his face. "What exactly is it? I've never seen one before." He asked curiously.

As the games approached, Fulvia found herself with a reprieve from exams, a tradition in the Capitol to allow students ample time to indulge in the games if they so desired. With her academic responsibilities temporarily suspended, she had little to occupy her time besides extra studying and tending to her pet.

Seated in the common viewing area, Fulvia cradled her pet hissing cockroach delicately on the back of her hand, her other hand stroking its back soothingly. Beside her sat a small travel carrier for Kitty, her bug companion, along with her customary cup of coffee in a mug she had unearthed from her grandparents' house years earlier. She hummed softly as she tended to her pet, only lifting her gaze when approached by someone.

"She's harmless, in case you're concerned," she reassured, drawing her hand closer to her chest, "And she doesn't fly either."

[masonxxbrick]

The overnight train ride had Mason starting the day feeling tired and groggy. So of course once the arena got settled and Quarry was for sure safe, the boy made his way to his favorite place. The coffee shop. Once there, he got in line behind one of the Gamemakers. At first he pretended to not hear her, unsure if she was even speaking to him. But, he cleared his throat anyway and spoke up. "Do you mean doing Hunger Games stuff every six months? Or being tired and waiting in line for coffee?"

Holland was proud of the safari, the mutts they'd put there. She was waiting for tributes to venture that way only because she wanted to see how it'd go, though that excitement in her stomach did make her feel a bit sick as well, like she was what was wrong with all of this. These thoughts were what was on her mind as she waited in line for a coffee, having been up for too many hours now and with too many hours to go. The breaks in her shifts were relatively short at the start of the Games, especially since she'd taken on a more active role in crafting these mutts and now knew more about them than most others on her team. "What a strange song and dance we're all trapped in," she murmured allowed.

[masonxxbrick]

"Yeah.. unfortunately there's always next year." And a year after that and one after that.. Which to Mason, it sounded like a bad thing. But to some people it was good because they had another chance to have a Victor. Mason just returned the smile. "I didn't have a chance to meet any of the tributes. I lost one of my mine in the Bloodbath and still have on going strong.. But if something happens to them, I will keep an eye on Linden, too!" It was hard to hear that the tribute had a child at home, but his tributes came first no matter what. Now he only hoped Quarry wasn't the one to take Linden out.

As she usually did on the first day, Coral stayed in the tower for the launch of the games, as she believed watching it with other people around was less terrible than sitting in her apartment by herself. It also helped in being proactive with sponsors, going right to the source to get gifts for her tributes. Only this time she hadn't even had the time to send them anything because both Meagan and Ray died before the games even started. "Of course I'm disappointed that my tributes didn't make it very far this year, but there's always next year, right?" She pressed her lips together into a quick smile. "There are plenty of other skilled tributes to keep an eye on. I for one am putting my money on Linden from district 7..." She trailed off, winking at the person next to her. Lee had told her his tribute had a child waiting for her at home. If anyone deserved to get a shot at more sponsorships, it was her.

[masonxxbrick]

Mason couldn't agree with anything more. He hated watching every minute of the games, but there was just something about the Bloodbath that made him feel sick every time. It was nice to hear someone else felt the same way. "I hate watching it, too. But then I get so nervous and anxious how my tributes are doing, I feel like I have to watch." He admitted. "Though maybe next year you and I should find a hiding spot away from screens and wait it out?"

"I've really thought about it, and I just think leaving while the bloodbath is happening is the smartest thing anyone could do – it's so immediately gruesome and personally, I don't feel like I've missed anything important," Moxie stated in more of a murmur than her normal chirpy, overly-excited voice. "The only important part of that is who died and my stomach is just too weak to see how horrific it can be for them."

[masonxxbrick]

Mason had only just arrived to the Capitol after taking an overnight train from District Two. He had gathered his paperwork that he needed and took a seat in the viewing room a few minutes after the Bloodbath had began. Watching closely, he kept an eye on the two tributes from Two. Though shortly after that, Clay was killed by another tribute. Mason winced and closed his eyes for a moment and then reopened them when he felt it was safe, letting out a small sigh. He opened up his binder and immediately began taking notes. It was his first day back on the job and it was already going to be a hard one. It was never easy getting in touch with the tribute's next of kin to make arrangements on getting them home.

The Bloodbath had ended and the screen showed the tributes finding their allies and beginning to explore the arena. "That's pretty cool." Mason said to the person next to him without seeing who it was. "I mean, I personally will never look at amusement parks the same.. But I have to give the Gamemakers a 10/10 for this one." He liked to give credit where credit was due, even if it was a dark subject.

[masonxxbrick]

"Hestia!" Mason exclaimed excitedly as he returned Hestia's hug. It was so nice to be back in the tower and see some of the friendly familiar faces. It definitely beat seeing his parents faces, that's for sure. "I'm doing great, thank you! Things are really starting to feel better again, you know?" Mason was worried it would take years for that to happen. But since the last time he was in the tower, he really was feeling better. More positive. Like his old self prior to the 133rd games. "Miller is great and my parents are doing well! There was a bit of an emergency, which is why I was a bit late.. but everything is good now!" He couldn't help but smile, it really was kind of Hestia to ask. "How are you doing? I'm sure the last few months has been draining.. But I'm so relieved to see Slate made it out."

"Good to have you back, Mason." Hestia was not shy in pulling Mason into a hug when she saw him, giving him a squeeze. While she wasn't exactly happy that he was back here, that he was now an escort and roped back into the world of the Games, it was good to see he was seemingly well. She couldn't help it-- she felt protective of him, as she came to be with most Victors. "Are you doing okay? How's your family?"

@masonxxbrick

[masonxxbrick]

Mason was lost in his paper work when he had heard someone begin to speak to him. He quickly looked up and his facial expression immediately turned concerned as he noticed Mahlon's face. Though he quickly tried to smile. "Oh, you know.. Just some emergency family stuff. But it's all done and resolved now." Mason said as he just waved it off. "But I'm happy to be back and happy to see you!" He didn't want to go into detail and it really was, thankfully, resolved. "I think the Gamemakers pick their favorites. If they like the group of kids, they give them a really cool arena like this one! If they don't, you get a sad cement tower.." Mason said with a small laugh. It was obviously a joke. The Gamemakers had the arenas planned months before any reaping took place. Though it was still a funny thought. "Some of us aren't so lucky."

Then he couldn't help but bring it up. As much as he tried not to notice, it was killing him. "What.. um.. happened?" He asked, gesturing to the bruise on his face. "Did you get into a fight with a killer ape? .. Did you win?"

"Where the fuck have you been?" Mahlon blinked, which shouldn't have hurt as much as it did, except Cress had gifted him a shiner that made it fuckin' hard to smoke, smile, and breathe. Still, it didn't stop him from waving a joint around, using it to gesture to the screen. "This looks like way more fun than my fuckin' arena was. Y'think they were broke my year or somethin'? Threw our asses in a cement tower with a floatin' platform, an' they get pretty pretty princess land?" But Mahlon wasn't really all that miffed. He smiled, which, again, hurt, but he was too glad to see Mason to care much.

@masonxxbrick

[masonxxbrick]

Mason Brick (he/him). 133rd Victor. D2 Escort. Twenty. Mitchell Hope.

Mason Brick is the son of Clayton and Paloma Brick, two very successful and respected business owners in District Two. Unfortunately, though, Mason was not brought into this world for good reasons. Even before he was born Mason had his entire life planned out for him. He would join the Career Academy as soon as he turned of age. Once he was ready to Volunteer for the Hunger Games, he would come out as reigning Victor, then he would help run the family business. One would think having their entire life planned out would make things more simple with no worry if things would turn out okay or not. But for Mason, it made things harder. He was the complete opposite of who his parents wanted him to be. They wanted strong, tough children who could be stern and leaders to whoever they were around. Mason on the other hand? He was more quiet and innocent. He hated to speak up and he was definitely more of a follower. His parents knew Mason was going to be an issue but they did all that they could to keep him on the correct path that they wanted. Even though he begged to get out the Academy, they kept him in.

Also to toughen Mason up, they were very cold when raising him, though they were that way with all of their children. If Mason had a nightmare and wanted to cuddle up with his mother to feel safe, she would send him back on his way to his own room to calm himself down. If he got hurt while playing outside and scrapped his knee up, his father would tell him to get over it and ‘walk it off’. When Mason was young and hated making the walk to school by himself, his parents refused to take him and made him walk on his own. Although his parents tried their best to make Mason tougher, they had failed. Mason had fought against it, wanting to keep his kindness and innocence.

Of course, Mason also had help. With two very loving older brothers, they did everything to help make the situation better. When Mason’s mother had sent him back to his room after his nightmare, Miller was outside the door waiting to walk him back to his bedroom and calm him down. When his father told him to walk his injury off, Smith was there to tell him funny jokes so that Mason could be distracted from the pain and laugh the tears away. And when Mason was meant to walk to school on his own, his brothers were there to walk with him. Miller and Smith were the one’s who kept Mason sane, for they were able to handle their cold and not-so-loving parents better than he was. And for that, Mason had always been appreciative of his brothers. The three Brick brothers had always been inseparable.

It wasn’t surprising to anyone who had met Mason that he wasn’t a big fan of the Hunger Games. Even though he was born in District Two and was supposed to be a major supporter of it, he had refused to show any interest in it. Which could also come off as ironic since Mason was one of the higher ranked Careers in the Career Academy. He was good with weapons, he was good at survival, and he was pretty quick at learning things.

In the middle of the 132nd Hunger Games, the District Two escort had an emergency and quickly left their position unfilled. Mason’s father was very close with the Capitol and heard the news almost immediately and an idea struck him. He had two sons doing nothing this summer so one of them had to be a perfect fit. Also because Miller was already there and it would get one of the younger, soon to volunteer, sons a closer look at the Games. Which, could also lead to them being more willing to Volunteer. His father had a hard time between picking Mason and Smith but ended up going with Mason for many reasons. Smith was very hard headed and was more difficult to persuade. Mason, on the other hand, could possibly be more open to the Games if he had a closer look at them, or that was what the father was hoping for anyway. So without even telling Mason, or the other brothers, Clayton had signed Mason up for the position. And of course, since Clayton was so highly respected, the Capitol didn’t even think twice about allowing Mason to become the District Two escort for the remainder of the 132nd Hunger Games. Then once it was over, Mason would return to District Two and continue training at the Academy. It all sounded so perfect to Clayton.

After returning home from his first Escorting job Mason immediately went back to his busy home life. Wake up early in the morning and go to the Career Academy. After a full day there he would go to Brick Industries and help out wherever he was needed as an assistant. And once he was released from there, he would go home and quickly eat some dinner, grab a shower and go straight to bed. Every single day was the same with not a moment of rest and Mason began to grow tired of it. Not only did he have no interest in becoming a Career, the Academy was becoming even more physically and mentally demanding. He even felt like things were getting worse since the rebellion had started.

So Mason decided that things needed to change. He was done going to the Academy and he was going to start living life the way he wanted to. His father had also been super busy with Miller and dealing with the rebellion, Mason figured he would never notice anyway.

For a week straight Mason skipped his classes at the Academy. Instead of going there he would hideout in the basement where he knew his father would hardly ever go down to. There he would finally find the time to study his books in hopes to eventually be a school teacher. He knew that many of the kids in his district didn’t care about school and were just excited about the Academy but Mason hoped to make a difference and help children enjoy learning about Academics.

Mason thought his plan had been going smoothly. His father had never mentioned anything about it so he figured he either didn’t know or didn’t care. That was until one day Mason was studying in his room and his father came home early from work. Mason was about to hide but his father came straight to his room and Mason knew he was in trouble. He must’ve known already that he was there. His father dragged him out of his room and down to the office where he began to yell at Mason. A trainer from the Academy had notified Mr. Clayton Brick that Mason hadn’t attended his classes in a week. Of course the trainer had given Mason the benefit of the doubt and asked Clayton if Mason had been sick. But Clayton knew better than that. Not only was he mad that Mason went against him, his father was embarrassed. Embarrassed that his son was caught skipping classes at the Academy. Mason apologized and told his father he would never skip his classes or disobey him again but his father wasn’t having it. He told Mason he was going to deal with the consequences of not listening to him.

Without a second thought, Clayton had made a few phone calls with his connections at the Academy. He told them that he felt Mason was ready to volunteer and of course he offered whatever he needed to persuade them.

That night, Mason was informed that he had to volunteer to be a tribute in the 133rd Hunger Games.

The 133rd Hunger Games was even worse than Mason had imagined it. Not because of the theme of the arena or because of the other tributes.. but because Smith, his older brother, decided to rebel and Volunteer along side Mason. Mason didn't know how to react, he had only wished he would wake up from whatever nightmare he was having. The two Brick Brothers in the arena meant only one was going to come out alive and Mason knew it couldn't be himself. There was no way he was going to live without his brother. The theme of the arena was a Modern Day city that soon became over ran with zombies. Mason made it through the arena by having zero enemies. Being allies with almost everyone was definitely difficult in ways but also made his time in the arena more manageable. Though things turned dark for Mason pretty quickly. Within the first couple days of the arena, Smith and Mason found themselves in a bad situation. The robotic bank tellers turned against the two brothers and attacked them. While Mason desperately searched for a way to stop this, Smith had other plans. He pushed Mason away and sacrificed himself so his brother could live. It was Smith's intentions all along, to make sure his younger brother had a chance. And now that he was given one he wasn't going to waste it. Even though a part of him died that day with his brother, he was going to win the Hunger Games. No matter what it had took.

After losing Smith, Mason fell into a dark hole mentally. He had a brief moment where he felt like giving up. That there was no longer a point to living.. He hid himself in a building where his 'bestie' Caspian had found him. Caspian, somehow, talked some sense into Mason and got him out of the dark hole helping him find the will to fight. After that, the two were pretty inseparable for the rest of the arena.

By the end of the arena, all of his allies were slowly dying, all due to the zombie virus. Mason ended up having to kill his two closest allies. River and Caspian. It wasn't easy and the only thing Mason could tell himself was he had no choice. It was all out of mercy. They were basically already dead anyway.. He still sees them in his dreams.

Mason was the reigning Victor of the 133rd Hunger Games with three kills under his belt and one less eye.

The 134th Hunger Games was off to the rough start. He was the newest Victor and mentor of Two's team. Though, with everything that he did, he felt he was doing it all wrong. He had many arguments with his close friends and his own brother.

With only a day or two of the Games left, Mason was pulled from being a mentor by his father. It was a family emergency and his father needed to have his sons home to deal with it. The Bricks had almost disappeared for the last six months, not seeing even his closest friends. Mason still refuses to speak on what happened but he is just happy to be back at this point.

Deciding the Mentor role wasn't for him, Mason is coming back as an Escort once again with a goal of being more helpful to not only his tributes but his team as well.

Strengths: Fast learner, Kind, Smart

Weakness: Innocent, Fearful, Anxious

PENNED BY: Haley

[masonxxbrick]

Mason was really enjoying himself. Exploring what the map had to offer and still saying hi to everyone that he saw. It was also helping him out to learn the movement a little more. He even jumped around to be sure not to get the 'attack' and 'jump' buttons mixed up. "Oh I would definitely love to see that one, too!" He said eagerly. "Hopefully Enna and Nano would just want to explore the map, too. If not, they are really going to kick my butt." Mason said with a small laugh.

Cat softened, Mason was still so sweet – after the Games. Cat didn't get how he did it all – to look at silly little computer-generated characters and give them the same kindness someone would give a stray kitten or a toddler. Cat knew she wasn't as softened, rougher around the edges more than anything, despite her best attempts to be a good person to help people, to see the good in everyone. "Maybe we could pivot the game," Cat said, slightly amused, "There's other maps you can explore too if you wanna – one of 'em ain't done but it might be good to get eyes on it, if you wanna see it."

[masonxxbrick]

Mason smiled as he set down the coffee and donuts on the table. "Well, I really wanted to. I feel like coffee is our thing, you know?" He asked with a small laugh before sitting down. "Gamemaker stuff?" Mason asked, gesturing to the notebook and tablet. "How're things going with you? Hopefully good with the games now entering the home stretch." He asked. "I know that I am personally so ready for these games to be over and go home. I'm exhausted."

One leg crossed over the other, glasses on the tip of his nose, Lex had his notebook in his lap and a tablet set up on the table in front of him. Deeply engrossed, he didn't notice Mason approaching until the young victor called out to him. Sharply, his eyes focused on the coffees, the snacks. Conjuring up a smile, he flipped his notebook shut and switched off his tablet as he put it all in a neat pile, freeing enough on the table for everything Mason had brought to comfortably fit. "Please, sit down." He gestured to the empty seat. "You've brought things - you really didn't need to."

[masonxxbrick]

Mason was beginning to feel overwhelmed. He hoped that maybe Miller or Cain would happen to walk in and save him from this argument. But of course, that didn't happen. The two of them still remained alone in the room and Everett continued to go off on him. He tried to stay calm. Take a deep breath and try not to take what he said to heart. Maybe Everett was just having a bad day and decided to take it out of Mason. Or maybe Mason really was just doing a horrible job. His hands balled into fists in his lap, feeling his anger rising, which was not something that happened to Mason often. Though it beginning to occur more and more since winning the games. "Easy on me?" Mason repeated, sitting up a bit. "Easy on me? Meaning what? Both you and Cain attacking me? Both of you going off on me and belittling me? That's what you consider going easy on me?" He asked in disbelief. "You guys are treating me like a child and I can't stand it."

He then let out a sigh, trying to compose himself. "What do you want me to do? Send her a new eye?" Mason asked, irritated. "She was sent medical supplies, she was sent an eyepatch. You keep bringing up her eye but I really thought she had what she needed as far as those kind of gifts went." He argued and really wished that Everett would understand.

"Look, not talking with Mars-- that's one thing, it's your first cycle, but Mason, this-- this is your job. Work with the tributes -- our tributes. Help them with training. Get them funds. Send them gifts. That's the job, and I know we've been easy on you, but I wasn't trying to give you space so you could go hang out with Helios and then raise money for him." He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "It's not taken care of, she's missing a fucking eye. I don't think any of us have slept since the Games started, I spent all morning in the sponsor lounge kissing ass since before the sun even rose, and all we got her was a change of clothes because she's been injured and on the back foot the entire time." He didn't think it was too much to ask for Mason to do his job; Everett had done his, starting in 126 and all the way until now, fighting for and helping tributes who often refused his help, such as Ezra. It wasn't fair.

[masonxxbrick]

"Oh, right." Mason said quickly, realizing what he said could be insensitive. "Well, I guess I'm going to take a sewing class so I can learn how to fix them." He was excited, though he still wasn't sure how many malfunctions he would really have at this point. Especially since he wasn't fighting in the Academy anymore. "Hm, I kind of think it depends on who you ask, but I appreciate you thinking that." He said with a small laugh. "I tried to do well, that's for sure, but I also think me winning really came down to the help of my friends." He paused before speaking again. "And my brother."

Leighton laughed. She'd had similar conversations with Capitols and those from the well-off districts before, so it didn't faze her anymore, but it did still bother her -- just a bit, in the back of her mind, where she stored everything inconvenient. "You can fix them," she said, "and that's what most people do, you know, in the outer districts." She said it with some level of remove, because it wasn't like her own financial situation had ever been quite so dire. Still, there hadn't been frivolous spending beyond reason, not like happened here, where people wore clothes once and then threw them away so as not to repeat an outfit. "Is that how you won? Because for my money, I'd say you won by actually doing well, not just convincing people you were doing well."

[masonxxbrick]

An arena without elements sounded nice but he also couldn't imagine the feeling of being locked in a building for days with no fresh air and sunlight. That in itself felt like torture. Though Mason for sure would've appreciated not getting poured on since he hated the rain and anything cold. "Yeah, that is a definitely a plus to an inside arena. I just still couldn't imagine the no sunlight part." He shook his head. "Maybe the next arena won't have any rain since they used it two times in a row." Or maybe the Gamemakers just enjoyed all the different damage the rain caused and would continue to use it every year. It was simple but very effective.

Greer nodded as Mason spoke, although she didn't necessarily agree. It was easier to have someone to hate when it was the gamemakers killing the tributes. It was easier to blame them than it was to blame some other tribute just trying to survive. The arena was all the wrong place, it was all the wrong time. That's what it was meant for. She didn't agree, but she did understand. "No, no rain in mine," she answered. "My arena was inside. Just big rooms all in a buildin', no windows or anythin'." She didn't see the sun for five days, and none of the other tributes ever saw the sun again. “Guess I’m glad about that some’a the time,” she shrugged. "'Least I didn't ever get poured on like this."

[masonxxbrick]

Mason started to spam buttons in hopes that he could defeat the AI's around him but luckily Cat had intervened before the embarrassment had gone too far. "Oh, that feels so much better." He said with a small laugh as she helped fix his grip on the controller. Video games was not something Mason had played often. He had played a few times with Cain but whenever they did, Mason had always been awful at it. Not that it really mattered, it wasn't like he had to be good at it to have a good time. "Oh! I love exploring." He said excitedly as he controlled his character, walking around and looking at everything. It felt much more chill now that no one was attacking him. "Oh hello. And hello. Hello." Mason said as his character walked passed each person. "I could play this all day, this game is great!"

"Oh," Cat managed through a laugh, not so much at Mason's expense but at the visual of the gameplay. "Okay, okay, here," Cat said helping to adjust Mason's grip on the controller so he was holding it a little better. "Here, here, just take a few steps around, work on moving and we can build up some of the other stuff," Cat said moving to her computer where the game itself was running. She switched over to the debug mode and turned off the enemies so Mason could get a feel for the movement first, "Nobody should attack you now so work on explorin' first."

[masonxxbrick]

"I guess you're right.." Mason said as he played with his fingers nervously, letting out a small sigh. "I'm sorry about Arden." He told him, still watching the screen. "I saw you still have at least one tribute going strong." He said with a hopeful tone. Two was also in the same boat with one remaining tribute. "We just have to hope our tributes find the correct shelter to hide out the storm."

Alder gave Mason an odd look. "I mean... it's the Games. I don't really think most of them are going to be okay." He wished he could give the caveat that the storm probably wouldn't be anyone's demise, but he didn't believe that either, and he wasn't a great liar. "The whole point is that they aren't okay."

[masonxxbrick]

"Maybe.. I guess I just never realized you could just.. fix clothes." It was a mind blowing realization and he figured maybe he should've had it sooner. But growing up with money, what was the point in fixing something when you could just buy a new one? That only made sense. "You're definitely right. Bonus points if you had sweat on your forehead and blood dripping somewhere. If you just look intense, it'll fool people into thinking you're doing better than you really are."

"Well, that's a waste," Leighton said, and in saying it, she realized she sounded very outer district. Time to reign it in. "But anyway, you'd know. Half of fighting is looking intense, half of it is actually, you know, doing the fighting, I suppose. Right?"

[masonxxbrick]

"Yeah he's my friend." Mason fought back. "I do know him, we spoke for a while when he was here in the tower and we got along good, how is that not a friend? And nothing against Mars but if I'm being honest, I spoke with Helios way more than I did her." Which maybe was a fault of his own. Maybe he should've tried harder to speak to the girl more than he did, but he hadn't and that was just the way things were. "Maybe if they happened to run into each other they would work together. I mean, they literally just can't seem to find each other, is that his fault?" Mason couldn't help but feel anxious at this point, like he messed up and was doing everything all wrong. His leg bounced nervously. "I'm trying to help with Mars but you and Cain seemed to be taking control, which is totally fine since I'm still new at this, I'm just not sure what else to do when everything is already taken care of." Mason said defensively.

"He's your friend?" Everett asked, a little shocked and definitely confused at that. "How? You don't even know him! And he's Mars's competition, and she's not in great shape. She's missing an eye. Do they seem like they're gonna work together? From what I've seen, everyone's left Mars pretty high and dry in there. Including Helios. She told me they were going to work together but what's he done? He's messing around with the girls from Seven and Eleven." He let out a frustrated groan. "I-- It's fine to support another tribute a little bit, but come on. You have to be a team player, Mason. You have to help us help Mars."