[open] Build it up with Silver and Gold

[voiceinthephone]

Who| Phillip Gray and anyone he runs into!
What| A sort of catch-all post
Where| Commons Area, and Tower Gardens
When| April 12-16
Warnings/Notes| Mentions of death, more to be added!

[A] District 6 Suite Common Area
After the Crowning, Phillip felt almost lost in the haze of what was probably deadtime. He had yet to master a proper way to cool down from stress, from survival, hell, even a hangover was becoming a longer than usual fog in his mind. Training only did so much for his mood and studying the Arenas was an exercise in torture, more so when he watched his Mentor's Arena. He understood why Lockhearst said that about District 6 being grateful, hell even other districts were on that boat too: he couldn't help flinch as every child that died hit closer and closer to home. Hell, he had to stop at one of them getting crushed and another one being blown up. He knew how easily someone could betray another, to build up the trust and then feel the knife twist. Granted, Phil was thinking about a more metaphorical betrayal but seeing the knife slice through the young Linden's neck, it was the last Arena he saw that day, and ever. No thank you sir, Phil has finally learned to enjoy sleeping again.

For now, Phil sits in the common area, reading a trashy Capitol Harlequin, and laughing along ridiculous amounts of debauchery presented as romance. Maybe even people watching if he's had enough of the literary shenanigans that passed off as a love story. At least Gray did pick up where he left off, and sipped from his soda can, something sweet for the day. He doesn't read this sort of things for the plot, heavens no, but for sport. That and he had to keep an eye out for the rumors.
[B] Training Center then headed to the Capitol

"Wow, this is…this is heavy," the Phone Guy said in awe as he held a handgun for the first time in his life. Every movie, schlock or not made it seem like firearms were lighter, more wieldy than what he was holding. Full of blanks of course but it was still so strange. So this was the weapon that ended his life in Arena 13, and yet…he wasn't that bitter that Nick killed him in that way. Better than what awaited him back home that's for sure.

If the Crowning and Stephen's strip club prank have done anything, it's that Gray needed to make some public relations catch-up. He wasn't that sort of guy that would just pay for some lady to take her top off! Stephen probably meant well, but Jesus Christ, there were still Capitolites that showed him the infamous pictures at the Dancing Bear and asking about it. Not even Fazbear's PR team could make this into something decent. What if he got bid on? He wasn't that ready to face that sort of this deal.

"This is gonna be interesting," he muttered as he practiced disabling the dummy's tendons then jabbing it on every major artery. He never went for the chest though, through the heart was much more trouble than it was actually worth…which meant he struggled on getting the weapon back. "Maybe I can find that…foxling Miss Honeymead told me about." He's mostly talking to himself at this point, but he welcomes anyone who walks in. 

Comments

[A]

[dead_black_eyes]

Linden looks exhausted today, but it has less to do with his ancient arena and more to do with the latest confrontation with Jason and the deal they'd worked out regarding Linden's parents, currently Avoxed and, if all goes as it should, en route to District 9. As much as he'd wanted to follow Jason's initial suggestion and accept them into 6's suite, he knew that it was dangerous and foolish to keep two beings with such a strong emotional attachment so close. Someone would notice. Someone would ask questions. Linden has friends in 9, and so long as they're away from Jason in 7, he can live with the situation for now. It doesn't even matter that he's agreed to give Jason 2 and a half months' worth of his winnings.

He shuffles by where Phillip is reading the romance novel, on his way to the kitchen to make his own drink, glancing at the title. "Have you gotten to the part where he proves his love by 'rimming her aggressively and passionately running the tesla coil over her nipples,' yet? If so, is it anything like what you saw when you went out the other night with Stephen? Rumor has it you had quite a time."

you're terrible and you know it

[voiceinthephone]

Phil might not have known about Linden's parents but he was sure that his Mentor went through the ringer and almost didn't make it out of there. Gray worried about the man more than he showed in public, mostly because of these new rules about professionalism and what not. If this meant he couldn't partake in a few glasses with Linden, that would be terrible for morale.

Speaking of, he blinked at the surprising spoiler then did his best to contain the laughing fit now trying to escape. He put up a good fight and broke down in a fit, "Nope, but I did get to the silk gloves fingering bit!" Did he just get spoiled for a gratuitous harlequin? Yeeeeeeeeeeep and holy shit, nothing back home compared to this tripe!

And then Phil realized what Linden asked of him: ah yes, the Dancing Bear incident. He let out a groan more akin to a dying animal and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Oh ha ha. You saw the pictures, w-why ask me about it? Why not Stephen?" Because it was hilarious and that startled puppy look made it to the circuit.

Yah

[dead_black_eyes]

It's honestly difficult for anyone who cares even a little bit about Linden not to worry about him. He's the type of person who looks chronically brittle and vulnerable, and on days when it's truer than usual, he practically broadcasts it like a neon sign over his shaggy head and heavy-lidded eyes. As far as "fraternization" goes... he doesn't think that extends to drinking. It had better not. For now, he supposes his ignorance protects him.

The laughter seems to startle the pale, staring man. He flinches lightly before nodding familiarly at Phillip's description. "That's not all she does with that glove. It gets really strange when the amputee pool boy with the tragic birth defect of two 14-inch penises gets involved."

He shrugs one shoulder. "The pictures aren't really worth 1,000 words, and even if Stephen might have 1,000 words to say about it, that's more than I particularly want to hear."

[voiceinthephone]

"Wow, well this is a keeper for after training," It just keeps getting better. "The writers really dive deep into the, uh, sexual needs of the Capitol, huh?" The observation was equal parts a legitimate examination of the Capitol's fetishes and his own wit trying to compensate for the images he would soon experience. In short: the Capitol needs intervention. "Makes Fabio look like a saint compared pretty much everything."

Wrong era, Phone Guy. But Linden's follow-up does lend itself for Phil to open up a little more, "Well if they're not worth a thousand words, there shouldn't be any doubts then. N-Nothing like this book, believe me. I would've high tailed it out of there like a sinner from church." Although- no, there really wasn't anything positive about the experience. "I really don't know what came over Stephen's mind when he took me there."

[dead_black_eyes]

"If you'd really like," Linden says disinterestedly. "Having spent a lot of time in the Capitol I guess I just don't find it that titillating or shocking anymore..."

He rubs at the dark circles under his eyes.

"Fabio? You know about the District 1 Tribute from a few years back with the very specific foot fetish? Goat feet? That's unexpected, but... good job, doing your... homework, I suppose."

He clears his throat; he certainly does a decent job being the most jaded and unimpressed Mentor when it comes to such matters. It's almost as if the fact that he has read these novels and committed passages to memory isn't even an issue.

"Stephen's been..." he gestures vaguely. "Lately. You're aware of it. You didn't have fun, then? Usually he knows how to show a person a good time, even if they don't remember most of it."

[voiceinthephone]

Phillip stopped for a moment, with a look that was priceless, a mixture of surprise, shock and maybe resignation that this place was just out there when it came to fetishes. As if the book he was reading wasn't hint enough.

"N-no, not that Fabio but, uh, good to know…The one I'm talking about is this tall muscular European-" he pauses his ramble for a moment, "I'm guessing Europe's not a thing here anymore, huh?" Nope or else they'd hear about the New Roman Empire or something, he figured, " Well let's say, blonde foreigner who usually did all the, um, Harlequin romance novel covers. But…goat feet?" Because THAT'S what stuck in his mind.

"I-I did have some fun, I guess," Gray admitted a little sheepish, "But my clothes kinda stink of body glitter and ass." The girls were enthusiastic to meet and perform for a Tribute, that was certain. "I don't want to be rude to Stephen, but next time he tries to get me to a bar like that, h-he could at least give me a head's up."

Phil then looked to his Mentor, "Is he getting better though? Is he resting it off?"

[dead_black_eyes]

Linden can tell Phillip some wild, wild stories, both from personal experience and the depravity he's witnessed secondhand. A lot of it makes what exists between the covers of that little harlequin novel seem pretty tame by comparison.

"Your world seems so strange to me," he says, staring at Phillip as though half of what he's saying is in a language long-dead.

"I'll have a chat with Stephen when he's up for it. Truthfully... I don't really know how he's doing these days. We've worked together as 6's staff for years and I like to think I know him pretty well, but lately he's difficult to draw a bead on."

[B]

[foundafamily]

Firo was one of those Tributes who purposely ignored most coverage of his peers and the Games, so, luckily for both of them, he hadn't seen the pictures that were so frustrating Phil. He was fortunate in that he came from a far away enough time that his behavior seemed to be regarded as adorably backwards rather than rude or rebellious.

He'd been working with one of the knives for a little while and still had it in his hand when he joined Phil. "You know, you seem like such a nice guy, but half the time I see you you're goin' to town on these things. Are you hidin' somethin'?" He grinned as he said it, because, obviously, that wasn't a bad thing at all.

[voiceinthephone]

Phillip chuckled at the strange observation as he jabbed the knife into the dummy's cheek, "Just a lotta rage and a little bit of revenge on someone back home, you know?" If he ever returned home, the Purple Man would have to contend with a Phone Guy who learned how to use a sharp-edged weapon.

He would've been more forthcoming had the news not plastered his face as part of Stephen Reagan's public meltdown. Worse, he was getting the feeling Capitolites thought him looser than he really was. Or at least more willing to see their goods. That was never the case and right now, the dummy would have to be his pincushion for the time being.

"What about you? Readying yourself for a night on the town? Or keeping muscle memory alive?"

[foundafamily]

Firo laughed with him, probably more amused than he should be at the thought of angry stabbings. "I get you."

If not for the cheek stab, Firo might have assumed Phil was joking about wanting revenge. But that's lots of blood and, potentially, some nasty scars like Al Capone had. In a lot of situations where Firo'd seen attacks to the face that weren't blinding moves, the intent was to mark and disfigure.

But imagined it'd be weirder to not want revenge after being killed horribly.

"Are you implyin' my 'nights on the town' involve stabbin' people?" He shrugged, a casual gesture that nonetheless brought the blade into view, and pretended to sound offended.

[voiceinthephone]

Phil was a genuinely nice if biting sort of man, but whenever he thought about the Purple Man, the serial killer back home, his less than favorable traits came to light. Disfiguring was something he aimed, and more so disable and leave them to the same cruel fate the murderer had inflicted on the others.

"Maybe? Though by the way you talked back at the crowning? You seem more like a, uh, blunt force trauma sorta guy," Gray answered and wiped his brow. "I haven't seen you go out…ever. Man's gotta wonder."

[foundafamily]

Firo smiled in agreement with the assessment. "We don't like to take out our knives if we don't have to. Ain't like there aren't ways to beat somebody down when you don't have a weapon." Even if they were armed with a knife or something. When the other person had a gun, that was trickier, but Firo's strategy of charging them anyway had only failed him once.

He shrugged roughly, unable to hide a scowl of disgust on his face. "There's no place to go here, as far as I'm concerned. The style here's not to my taste."

He had a bad enough times at the Crownings. It was all too flashy and far too indecent for his tastes. He would rather stab people than attend a Capitol party.

[voiceinthephone]

"Smart man," And Phillip means the phrase, "Though are you sure you don't stop to think if the person has, uh, has a firearm? Kinda important you know?" He'd worry about the recklessness later but this wasn't the moment or place. It's a relatively peaceful time, no conflicts or Arenas other than Capitol cattiness.

"Not even to a dive? Jeez," Phil shot back with a chuckle, "I-If I wasn't in the rags, I'd take you to my usual place." It wasn't as flashy as the rest of the Capitol, mostly full of Districters that were here on work. Nice, quiet, and Gray's started a rapport with the bartender, mostly to keep referring his place to bring other Tributes with him.

[A] PERFECT PROMPT

[crabmunicator]

If anyone were watching for it, it wouldn't be hard to sometimes spot Karkat sitting around, absorbed in a book of some sort. The stories here aren't the familiar kind he had back on the meteor, telling tales of quadrant drama and red-black flips and intercaste quibbles aplenty, but they make do, and Karkat's not as picky in his tastes as he likes to pretend. With them sharing a district, Phil might have had the chance to; but at the same time, he doesn't advertise what books they are.

In any case, it's that interest that draws him over today. The book isn't one he's read, but romance novel covers are a universal constant: trashy, flashy, and impossible to miss.

"I didn't know you read those," he says nearing, and the look on his face is open curiosity.

i try my best

[voiceinthephone]

"Hm?" Phil lifted his eyes from the over-the-top scene he was engrossed in and doing his damnedest not to laugh his ass off the chair. He'd finally gotten to the scene Linden had spoiled him and by God, it delivered in spades. Truly, the writers of his time and place were too prudish to comprehend the functions of a tesla coils in the throes of love.

It'd been a long while since he talked to Karkat, at least more than just a quick hello in the tower. "Oh yeah! I do, I usually read them before work and such. For sport," he admitted without a drop of shame in his voice. What that sport was, he wasn't telling just yet in case someone was insulted by his humor.

Because really, when you work with animatronics seeking to murder you in a brutal and gory fashion, you gotta enjoy the little things!

[crabmunicator]

"So what's the plot of that one?" Karkat asked, leaning in a bit. It had been a while, true, but the time didn't dull his interest now, and if anything this might have meant Phil was more worth talking to than he had previously guessed. "Don't spoil the big twists, but just give me the rundown. I might read it myself if it sounds good."

There was no shame to him, either. If anything he sounded earnest, as if talking about this were perfectly normal--and it wasn't as though Phil knew him much either way.

[voiceinthephone]

Gray grinned at the question and dog eared the page he was on to answer, "The plot? Well, it started off with Miss Jacqueline Riverdance, a Capitolite who had her first sexual awakening by her one true love, a Peacekeeper named Paul or some other name...when he's transferred to District 10, she embarks on a journey to find her lost love."

He snorts at the memory of the tesla coil, "Let's just say she finds a lot of paramours along the way. There's probably a charity event for a man whose deformity is having two penises, I'm not going too hard on that."

He offered the book to his fellow D6 tribute, "Though I have one that takes the term cat woman to the logical extreme," nope, they can go further, "In the Heat of the Moment, have you read that one?"

[crabmunicator]

A wide grimace spread across his face, baring nubby fangs and wrinkling his nose above. "So it's the back alley trash of a sex shop pressed and bound into a paperback."

It didn't stop him from taking the book. It still had a romance plot, right? Ignoring the page Phil had dogeared, he turned to the first page to skim over as they spoke.

"No, I haven't," he answered of the latter. "And considering one of my teammates and her--let's say relative, that's easier--were obsessed with cats, I do not need to be reminded of them while I'm reading, let alone by the trashier end of the spectrum." Not that he didn't miss Nepeta, but there was a limit to ways he wanted to think of her.

"Do you found any good ones yet? I have some in my room that are alright, but they aren't the same as Alternian novels."

[voiceinthephone]

"Yep! That would be the exact words I would use to describe this sorta schlock on paper," Phillip agreed with a smirk, "There's something akin to a plot somewhere and apparently she does decide to go with the Peacekeeper not out of duty but to do something for herself, so that's something, right?" The Capitol's way of "empowering" choice over destiny, though Gray could see the subtle nudges to obedience in the narrative.

But the question lingered and he shook his head, "Nothing that doesn't devolve into gratuitous amounts of porn. And what do you mean Alternian?" Today, the Phone Guy learned that even aliens have romance novels.

b

[justoutrunyou]

"Foxling? Like a baby fox?"

Sandy hadn't been going out of her way to avoid Phil so much as she had fallen into her usual post-arena depression and this time rather then lay around the District suite for days she had simply tried to make herself as busy as possible to power through the miserable feelings of hopelessness that always came with waking up a scrawny and defeated version of herself.

Feeling more like herself then she had in weeks this time when she saw Phil she decided to see how he'd been. With a duck trailing behind her she had made her way over to him.

[voiceinthephone]

To see Sandy alive and well, it was the best feeling in the world for the former guard. She had returned from the Arena, worse for wear but still fighting the good fight. The duck gave Phil reason to pause in his routine, blinking as he wiped the sweat off his brow. "Uh, yeah, I've always had a fondness for foxes, childish, I know. Call it one of the few good memories I have from Freddy's," he answered the question while his mind wandered into one of Foxy the Pirate's pre-programmed sea shanty songs.

"Who's that you got there?" he asked after jamming the knife into the dummy's thigh. "Never thought I'd see a duck around here."

[justoutrunyou]

Sandy watched his form and gave a nod of approval. He was getting better with a knife.

"This is duck." She jerked a thumb at the bird who gave a quack and began preening his feathers.

"I used to have a best friend here named Pruna. She was a professional assassin in her own world. Our escort got Pruna duck thinking that it might be good for Pruna to learn how to take care of something other then me. She named it duck and raised it till she died in the arena and didn't come back. So...I just kinda look after him now."

Duck was one of the few remaining things in Sandy's life that she had kept to remind her of her best friend. Even saying she had died in the arena didn't feel right. Like any day now Pruna would wake up, yank her wobbly tooth out like she did every time she was brought back and go right out for ice cream.

"Duck, this is Phil. He's our friend now." Duck gave Phil a sideways glance but continued working on his feathers.

[voiceinthephone]

Phillip waved a little at the duck in a complete sincere way. He wasn't too used to animals being around, the last pet he had was a damn Betta fish that he would have to give away after the first week on the night shift. But in that moment, he preferred to listen to Sandy's story and wondered about this Pruna.

"He's lucky to have you, he's very docile and I've heard horror stories about ducks attacking people." The animal he's thinking about is a Canadian goose.

"So Pruna..." he wanted to ask about her a little more, "Is she the one that taught you?"

[justoutrunyou]

"Yeah." She sighed tucking her hands into her pockets. It had been awhile since she spoke at length about Pruna and she was surprised to find it didn't hurt as much as it used to. That was sad in it's own way.

"I met Pruna in my second arena. She hated me back then because she was totally on board with the hunger games and I obviously wasn't." She explained.

"But after we both died and came back to the Capitol all this modern technology confused her. She was from like...old times you know? Horses and swords and castles. So I offered if she promised to train me to be less helpless then I would teach her about things like TV and elevators and ice cream." Her lips curled into half a smile. "She loved ice cream so much."

Duck seemed to realize who Sandy was talking about and looked up from his feathers.

"In the next arena someone told us about how the Capitol Citizens love couples. So we decided to be girlfriends to get people to send us more things. Then when my leg got mangled in a bear trap she kept me alive for almost a month before I died in that arena."

What had started as a trick to earn more credit with the citizens had gotten much deeper.

[voiceinthephone]

"The Capitol sure loves their gossip," Gray rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, a stance that was quickly becoming synonymous with his annoyance. Many of the Incident's interviews had him with that pose, closed off. But the way he talked, he was clearly trying to be comforting as well. Not many people liked being touched when talking about loved ones.

"So you became closer and...then she passed on?" Passed on implied something that only happened to a select few in the Arena: a peaceful death. So rare and yet Phil held out hope that some of these Tributes, those who didn't come back, didn't suffer. It's nice to dream, but Pruna's departure sure did a number on Sandy.

"I'm sorry for your loss." For as many times as the Phone Guy said those same words, they never lost their sincerity.