Phillip Gray | Phone Guy [AU] (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
voiceinthephone) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thearena2015-02-15 01:52 am
voiceinthephone) wrote in thearena2015-02-15 01:52 am
Entry tags:
[open] And think well, yes think as you are fighting
Who| Phillip Gray and open
What| Surviving and other errands, along with a Valentine's delivery
Where| All over the Arena
When| End of Week 3 (Valentine's) Twelve hours before Nick Sr. finds him
Warnings/Notes| Arena shenanigans and flashbacks of his home
Lasting this long in the Arena, almost three weeks surviving, Phil uncovered his mouth to let out a soft chuckle. He'd joked with Piers Nivans that he'd only last two weeks tops back at the Crowning, that he wasn't much to behold. Dandy called him fodder for killers, that there wasn't any other place for him in this world unless he was guilty of something. But Nivans was dead, and Gray had watched Mott die. It wasn't a natural transition for him, Gray admitted as he'd patched Venus up that day, to go from having basically no agency on whether he lived or died to making choices, good or bad. It felt...liberating. It felt so good that his chuckle became a full-on laughing fit that toppled him onto the ground. He was alone, with the cameras watching, so he uttered a thanks to the viewers, well aware that someone on the other side of the lens would hear him. He also said it to the people that helped him get this far: to Sandy, Milo, and every Sponsor Stephen sent. Phil owed them his life and come hell or high water, he'd stand by them.
A Sponsor packet drifted across the sky, almost dancing, prompting Gray to sit up. "Small one," he figured and got back to his feet. All he had of his original Cornucopia bounty was the bag it came in, he'd left the tent in Sandy's care to free up the carrying space. As Phil opened the package the moment it landed, the smell of flowers invaded his sense of smell, reminding him of his last Valentine's Day. It'd been the year of the first dead child and he still remembered how her eyes lit up at the sight. "Erm," he had an embarrassed look on his face, especially when the tag read his name, "Two dozen roses..." That was two bouquets to do as he pleased with. Checking his wares and confirming he had enough food and water to last him a day, Phillip decided to make a trip. He knew exactly who to give these to. As a professional thank you of course! Nothing else.
What| Surviving and other errands, along with a Valentine's delivery
Where| All over the Arena
When| End of Week 3 (Valentine's) Twelve hours before Nick Sr. finds him
Warnings/Notes| Arena shenanigans and flashbacks of his home
Lasting this long in the Arena, almost three weeks surviving, Phil uncovered his mouth to let out a soft chuckle. He'd joked with Piers Nivans that he'd only last two weeks tops back at the Crowning, that he wasn't much to behold. Dandy called him fodder for killers, that there wasn't any other place for him in this world unless he was guilty of something. But Nivans was dead, and Gray had watched Mott die. It wasn't a natural transition for him, Gray admitted as he'd patched Venus up that day, to go from having basically no agency on whether he lived or died to making choices, good or bad. It felt...liberating. It felt so good that his chuckle became a full-on laughing fit that toppled him onto the ground. He was alone, with the cameras watching, so he uttered a thanks to the viewers, well aware that someone on the other side of the lens would hear him. He also said it to the people that helped him get this far: to Sandy, Milo, and every Sponsor Stephen sent. Phil owed them his life and come hell or high water, he'd stand by them.
A Sponsor packet drifted across the sky, almost dancing, prompting Gray to sit up. "Small one," he figured and got back to his feet. All he had of his original Cornucopia bounty was the bag it came in, he'd left the tent in Sandy's care to free up the carrying space. As Phil opened the package the moment it landed, the smell of flowers invaded his sense of smell, reminding him of his last Valentine's Day. It'd been the year of the first dead child and he still remembered how her eyes lit up at the sight. "Erm," he had an embarrassed look on his face, especially when the tag read his name, "Two dozen roses..." That was two bouquets to do as he pleased with. Checking his wares and confirming he had enough food and water to last him a day, Phillip decided to make a trip. He knew exactly who to give these to. As a professional thank you of course! Nothing else.
no subject
Add to that list small-town naïve, he's always star-struck whenever Venus came along. She reminded him of a quintessential star, not starlet. But to Gray, she wasn't just an unattainable dream, she was a person. A person that he slowly got to know better and in turn, opened up more to her.
"And you read it? With a straight face?"
no subject
The way the audience comes together to create their version of her, this papier-maché Venus that does things the real Venus would never imagine, the way that advertisers use her to become their product, is what drew her to celebrity in the first place. She could make Delilah, the murderous girl she hated, disappear forever inside a persona that everyone was too eager to believe. Venus is sweet and bubbly and sexy and signs autographs with hearts and lipstick. It's a delusion everyone else participates in.
no subject
Okay, that was a bit of a lie, but he never went as far as kissing her as in the same movie he'd tried to quote earlier. She wasn't an object to him, a prize to be won. He still remembered the love and affect Sam and Vee showed each other before she was healed. They were good for each other and were veterans.
You don't fit in that picture, he reminded himself before remembering just how nice it felt to care for someone again. Venus made him happy just being her, "I guess people really don't have issue making fantasies...even though the real deal," he looked to Milo and smiled, "Is probably one of the best Tributes I've ever met."
He had no idea of the truth but if he did, he would not ever blame her for it.
no subject
There's a frankness with which she discusses sexuality that's almost boastful, and certainly artificial; she doesn't feel that brave in bed, but if she can step out of Delilah and into Venus, her secondary skin, she can pretend and sell it as if the sex she were selling were her own and not the construct of an audience.
"You're sweet." She reaches over and taps the top of his ear affectionately. "But I didn't save your life, so I'm the one who owes you."
no subject
Gray knew he had to be honest to her though, even if it wrecked her perception of him, "You kinda did save my life. I didn't feel ready for these games, or this place. I know it will hurt if I die, but at least I won't by that afraid."
no subject
"No sex tapes, no full-frontal," she says, waving a finger and grinning. "So don't ask. There's a legit photoshoot of me floating around with nothing but a giant gold sequin-covered boa constrictor covering my boobs and cooch, though. That was my former Escort's idea, not Porrim. I'm sure you'll get to do one of those horribly uncomfortable or embarrassing shoots eventually."
She gets serious, as serious as she does with Phil, for just a moment. "I'd say no one's ever ready but I was, so I guess it's my way of paying forward all the coaching I got back in my superhero days."
no subject
But he knows when to kid around and when to drop it, more so when he says, "Vee, if there's anything I wanted to tell you back there, i-is that, you do what's best for you, okay? Superheroes, at least in those comics back home, they never really take care of themselves a-and burn out. I-I'd hate to see that happen to you too."
Phillip truly believed the image, but the cracks he'd seen the last time, with the frog they named Kermit, he had to speak that up before he died.
no subject
And it's that same brashness that lets him brush off his warning. The truth is that it hits home. The truth is that burning out is exactly what she wants to do. She wants it to be dramatic and fast and public and beautiful, the crucifixion of the guilty party in flames and roses.
"I'm fine, Phil. I haven't lasted here this long without picking up some tips."
no subject
If the bluntness of the statement affected the former guard, he didn't let it show as he nodded and smiled at Venus with the same brightness and almost pup-like joy as ever. "I know, I know. Maybe this will be the one? I-I know I'll be cheering you on, Milo." This might have been his last day on the Arena but for Phillip Gray, this was the absolute best day of his life.
/start wrapping?
She shakes her head. "Nah. Everyone knows I ain't here to win. But maybe you are. I'd be okay with that." She moves her hand from his finger to his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. "I'm going to head back before Albert and Jet start thinking I got eaten by mutts. Keep the iPod, okay? I'll keep the flowers."
with a pretty bow! <3
It's the tapping and the signs of affection that bring a telltale blush onto Phillip's face and he nodded towards the device, breaking the train of thought. Venus had the distinction of being one of very few people in Panem that could get Gray away from those memories on her own. "Thanks, heh, I I'll stick around and see if there's something to eat or something." He knows he repeated himself in that sentence but he didn't care.
The former Phone Guy then stood up and with a shaky breath of air, he said, "Ha-Happy Valentine's day, um, Vee. Send my regards to Jet and Albert!"