thecapitol | I Gotta Feeling.... (OPEN!)

Entry tags:

I Gotta Feeling.... (OPEN!)

Who| Kevin and YOU!
What| Some schmoozing needs to happen before next arena, so Kevin has hit the parties!
Where| PARTY HOPPING!
When| Last week of the Arena, after getting bumped off.
Warnings/Notes| Uh...Kevin. I will just warn for Kevin.

This was nothing like the parties were like back home.

Still, parties - no matter what kind - were always a really great way to network, make new contacts, and acquire new business partners. So it was like he was always taught - when in Rome, perform a hostile takeover of the Romans. Common sense, right?

Fortunately for Kevin, while he understood it could be a little tricky to approach him (celebrity just made people so gosh-darned nervous!), he was easygoing and ready to start a conversation with just about anyone. He didn't need a lot of help from his Stylist so far...mostly he had just had his teeth whitened, new and fashionable suits picked out, and his golden blonde hair conditioned to a fine shine.

He had insisted on keeping his deep red tennis shoes, though. They were his lucky shoes.

Armed with his trademark smile and boundless energy, he set out to make some appearances at Arena parties...hoping to make a few new friends while he was at it. He opted to play it cool for a little while, being passive and letting excited people approach him for conversation.

After all, some of those people could make EXCELLENT partners in the Games themselves.

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The parties were not Some's favorite way to spend an evening. But Martinus had hinted that the host of this one was an affluent sponsor, someone prone to buying expensive supplies for his favorites. So he'd gone along with it.

The District Two stylists were still getting used to his strange shape, and right now, their default was to caparison him like a horse. He had straps and panels of cloth, and a deep hood to match. He liked the hood, at least. It let him watch the party-goers without his staring becoming obvious.

When he spotted Kevin, it made him start, just like it had in the Arena. With those teeth and those eyes, Kevin looked so much like the human form Some had worn in Bete Noire. He quashed the little disappointment that he was only a human, and raised a hand to wave hello.

Kevin could not have been more pleased to spot Some outside of the arena, honestly. When he saw the wave, he waved back enthusiastically, trotting right over with a bounce in his step.

"Some! Hey there! Wow," he breathed, looking over the stylist's work.

"You look BEAUTIFUL."

Now that was a greeting he hadn't expected. It caught him at a bit of a loss. But his first, uncertain smiles spread wide, and he chuckled in his throat.

"You should have seen how they dressed me for Eight. It was much nicer," he confided, lowering his voice. No sense in letting someone give that tidbit back to his new stylists. He had no interest in seeing what they'd do in a pique. "You look very fine, yourself."

"Oh! Really?"

Kevin found himself genuinely interested in what the 'much nicer' outfit might have been - he very much so admired Some's beauty, and it was amazing to think how stunning he could get.

He giggled a little at the compliment, winking and looking down at himself.

"Aw, shucks. Thank you! I just got fitted for this suit, and I just love it!"

"It makes me wish I had ever learned how to dress well when I was shaped for it." He lowered the hood, which revealed the white patterns bleached into the fur of his face, like a cheetah's markings in negative. "I wore whatever I found, in those days, and my friend Conrad was always telling me I looked ridiculous."

The white patterns were mesmerizing to the peculiar man...he kind of wanted to reach out, trace them, pet the fur - but he thought better of it, because that seemed like it might be a little impolite.

He tilted his head to one side.

"...When you were shaped for it?"

Some nodded, ducking his head a little shyly. "The city I lived in before - it gave me human shape. That is why I was so startled to see you - you look very much like... that me." His hands moved, one with a gesture towards their eyes, another towards their teeth.

"Oh, I see."

Kevin reached up a little bit, brushing his fingers over his own eyes, along his own lips. Thinking. All the while looking at Some.

"...Well, I do think I look nice - good self-esteem is key for charisma! But...I also think you look much prettier the way you are. I've never seen anything like you...and I come from Desert Bluffs!"

Some's features softened slightly, the fine fur of his cheeks fluffing up a little at the flattery.

"Is that a world, or a city? Desert Bluffs?"

Awwww. Kevin thought that was adorable. Maybe the faintest hint of a blush rose to his cheeks, but that could also just be his natural rosiness.

"Desert Bluffs is my hometown! It may as well be my whole world, though...it's so important to me! It's one of the best places ever!"

The very picture of hometown pride.

"Could you tell me about it? Most people don't seem to talk about home." He gave the crowd a bit of another scan, but he was content to turn a shoulder to them all, giving Kevin his full attention.

"Oh, wow, there's just SO MUCH to tell!"

Kevin bounced on the balls of his feet, reaching out to take Some by the hand. Partly it was excitement, friendly thoughtlessness...but partly he wanted to feel how soft the fur was. His face flushed with glee, and if any light existed in his eyes, they would be shining.

"Let's go sit down and I'll tell you all about it, okay? I would REALLY love to!"

The fur on the back of Some's hands was very fine indeed, though there was none on his palms. He squeezed Kevin's, surprised only by a human being the first to make contact. They were always so standoffish, compared to grue social norms.

"Yes, please. I hardly ever get to hear about parts of Earth."

Well, Kevin wasn't...exactly up on normal human social norms, either.

But then not everyone he knew back home was human, either. And gosh that fur was nice...he rubbed his thumb over it a little before pulling the Grue off the party's main floor.

Once they reached some seats, Kevin dropped into one of them, face positively glowing.

"Desert Bluffs is just the best little town...it's out in a big, beautiful desert, with dunes of sand and sky just as faaaaaar as your eyes can see. Lots of people...all happy, all productive, all hard workers...gosh, this is hard! It's so hard to put a place that is SUCH a part of you to words like this...."

He pauses a moment to collect his thoughts, watching Some for a reaction.

Chris smiled warmly when Kevin approached him, recognizing him instantly. He raised up a hand to point at him, but ends up canting his head to the side. "May I say, you look at least 25% better in person. Which isn't to say you weren't spectacular on the big screens. You're just at 125% tonight!"

A finger wag and it was all over, his grin growing impossibly wider. "I'm Chris Traeger, and it is my absolute pleasure to meet you, Kevin."

Well! Here was someone running at his speed! Kevin saw the grin and raised Chris one of his own, his face nearly splitting in two as he thrust out a hand for a friendly handshake.

"Well gosh - thank you so much! I'm so glad that you enjoyed the performance, Mister Traeger." The charm was turned on, and it was turned on HARD. This was a potential investor!

Kevin was just doing what Kevin did best when he tilted his head a little to one side, laughing his pleasant, lilting laugh.

"But I'm going to have to disagree with you on one thing - the pleasure is allllll mine, friend. Engaging with new people is my favorite thing!"

"But it's my favorite thing..." He was almost unprepared for this level of his own cheer being thrown back at him, but he quickly recovered, laughing a bit when he realized he was being ridiculous. "It can be both of our favorite things, as well as both of our pleasures."

That didn't sound right, but Chris is moving on. "District 9 has had an impressive run this season." It's what he would say no matter which district Kevin was from. "You must be delighted to be an integral part of their success."

Hey, good enough for Kevin. Pleasures and otherwise.

At the mildly back-handed comment, he just chuckled, taking a moment to pick a colorful drink from a tray being carried by.

"Of course I am! If I can do my best, and if it helps someone else to do their best, then everybody wins, don't they?" He's being genuine - or at least, he has every appearance of it.

Chris throws a glance to said colorful drinks, but he doesn't trust them. He'll stick with his kelp tyvm. "That is an excellent attitude to have. More tributes should think that way." Or people in general, really.

"I pride myself on my attitude! A positive attitude is the key to efficiency in the workplace - and in life!"

He punctuated this with a little lift of his glass in a toasting motion, then took a sip from the frilly drink. Really a wonder he didn't dribble, given the state of his mouth.

"Being here is no different than being at work back home."

"You are too right. In fact, that is literally something I could've said myself." A beat and wide smile. "And probably have."

But it's interesting that Kevin takes all of this in stride, when others he's spoken to have not. He's not even sure how he himself might fare in the arena and he's a native. Was Kevin's world like Panem?

"What did you do there?"

People hadn't really asked Kevin to talk about Desert Bluffs very much - and so he was excited when the opening arrived, brimming with enthusiasm and town pride as he started in.

"I'm the community radio host! I do the news, the weather, community updates...it's very important. I also serve as a sort of figurehead for Strexcorp - I'm a face they can put to the name and trust. I have extensive business training. I love it! I love my job!"

Was his grin WIDER now? Was that possible?

"That is so wonderful. You must miss it. It sounds like the greatest place I've ever even heard of." Kevin hadn't even told him about the town, but okay Chris. "...But, excuse me for asking, how is being a radio host anything like being a tribute?"

He furrowed his brow, genuinely curious. He loved how colorful the Capitol had become after the start of the New Games, but it was also something just outside his realm of understanding. Maybe if he kept reaching for it, however, he would get there.

"Oh, it is! Desert Bluffs is just amazing. I do miss it, but I'm glad to be spreading the good word here, too."

FINALLY, someone who understood him! Kevin was confident that they could be fast friends - maybe even best friends! He fielded the next question with ease, not flinching, not stopping to think.

"Gosh, they actually have a lot in common! Grace under pressure is important, and knowing how to talk to people doubly so! I'm very used to finding sponsorship, making new friends, networking...oh, and inventiveness is a must! I'm trained in all kinds of things for the company already, so all of this is a piece of cake! As for the fighting? Well, you just never know what's going to happen in good ol' Desert Bluffs."

He gave a good natured laugh, blinking his huge black eyes a bit owlishly.

"That is literally the best connection anyone has ever made." Chris smiled wide. "All of the Tributes who come here have such amazingly unique views. Someone should write a book."

Aka he should. Or maybe it's already in progress, it's a mystery. But then Chris is pausing with a bit of a fall in his expression. "Is there a lot of fighting in Desert Bluffs?"

"Gosh, thanks!"

Kevin took a sip from his drink - and nearly choked on it when he was asked about whether Desert Bluffs was violent. Swallowing hurriedly, he laughed a little, shaking his head from side to side.

"Oh, HEAVENS, no! Desert Bluffs is the very picture of efficiency, full of great and business-minded people! Fighting doesn't serve anybody. But strange things do happen in the desert...very strange things. And a good radio host must be prepared for them."

Chris wasn't sure what to make of that, and he was sure it showed on his expression. "What sort of things qualify for desert caliber of strange?"

Kevin didn't seem to mind.

"Gosh, all kinds of things - mirages, rainstorms that aren't rain, sharks, carefully orchestrated sandstorms that boost productivity...you know! Strange things! But strange things are usually also miracles...things to be praised and admired for what they bring to the table."

"Wow." So desert much amaze. "Well, miracles certainly sound like a good thing. Though I'm not sure how desert-sharks are physiologically possible, I will absolutely take your word for it anyway."

:D

"Oh, they aren't! Not really. That's why they're considered strange."

Kevin thought that was obvious.

"But Strexcorp deals with all manner of scientific and/or spiritual anomalies. It's just part of good business."

"They must be, if they... occur. Naturally." Chris thought that much was obvious too. "What do you do? Once you find these anomalies?"

"What do I do personally?"

This was so great. He hadn't gotten to talk much about work yet!

"I report it! I'm the radio host for the town. It's important that I keep Desert Bluffs informed. I also act as a figurehead now and again for Strex events, so sometimes I'm on the scene!"

A beat.

"Once in a while, the strange things happen to ME, and that's always suuuuuper exciting."

Edited 2014-04-27 23:51 (UTC)

"That literally sounds like the most exciting job ever. And that includes mine." Which he often regailed as just that. "What's the strangest thing that's ever happened to you, personally?"

"Gosh, thanks! I really do love it."

Kevin had to think about this for a moment, sipping his drink, before he finally realized what the obvious answer was.

"Oh - there was that time when the sandstorm happened, and I met my double! A portal opened in the wall of my studio, and on the other side was the strangest place...."

"That is literally the most amazing thing I have ever heard. In my entire life." And he meant that sincerely. "What were you like? Other-you. I bet he was great. Like this you is."

A beat as Chris' face goes from open curiosity to a bit scowly. "How do you know you're the real you?"

"Other me? He was just SO nice. He gave me the best hug! I only got to see him for a few seconds...but gosh, he was just such a great guy."

Kevin watched Chris's face drop, but he didn't falter - he just blinked once, broadened his grin, and chirped his response.

"I don't! But I know that I am Kevin, and that is enough for me."

"And it's great that you're Kevin! You're the only Kevin I know, so it's more than enough for me, too." Big, big grins all around. This guy was awesome. Everything was awesome. "I'm absolutely positive that anyone who claimed to be you, Kevin, must also be great." He pointed at him as he said his name, as was customary.

"Awwwww - you are just the biggest sweetheart, aren't you?"

This guy was great! Just wonderful! Everything was just perfect tonight, wasn't it?

"I bet we'll be the best of friends, Mister Traegar - just the BEST."

"I do try to be... sweet. Especially since it's not the sort of sweet that can cause cavities." He flashed his bright, cavity-free teeth. "We will be literally the best friends to ever be - friends. You're absolutely 100% right." Thumbs-up!!

Kevin flashed his numerous, pointy, teeth in response - also cavity free.

He raised his hand for a high five!

Oh hells yeah. He slapped Kevin's hand triumphantly, before shooting it into the air. High-five fist-pump combo motherfuckers.

OOH! Neat!

Kevin mimiced the fist pump and found it very satisfying! Yay, friendship! Yay, business!

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I Gotta Feeling.... (OPEN!)

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maybe i could stay with one tense

Naaaah.

so late much shame

It's okay!

<3

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takin it back to that old school prose shit

Oh snap

i'm so old i can't even take it

old as balls

however old they are

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