thecapitol | If you want it wet then you gotta make it rain!

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If you want it wet then you gotta make it rain!

Who| Holly Day and You!
What| Holly thinks things could use a little more fun, so she's set up a booth just for that
Where| In the Tribute Center lobby
When| A few days after the arena
Warnings/Notes| N/A

DUNK A HO

Anyone walking into the tribute center will notice the sign with those three words, flashing in bright neon pink and exploding into rainbows before flashing again. It sits above a dunk tank, an arrow pointing down at the person sitting in on a little platform in the tank, still dry, grinning eagerly at anyone who happens to walk by. A bin of tennis balls is a few feet from the tank, waiting for someone to grab and toss at the target to dunk her.

In her opinion, it's been entirely too long since they've all had a bit of fun, and she's more than happy to encourage it, even at her own expense. Holly benefits as well, of course. She's recently bought some new waterproof makeup, and she's looking for a way to test it- this obviously the way to go about it.

"Come one, come all!" she says loudly, "Try your hand at dunking a ho! I'm far too dry, doesn't anybody wanna make me a little wet?" This will be followed up with a giggle and an exaggerated wink, and she'll continue trying to entice people until someone finally decides to come and dunk a ho.

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"The fuck is this?" Sergius squints as he exits the elevator and approaches the glowing sign and the lovely queen accompanying it. He laughs, amused by her gimmick, even if he does think it's a little... different. To say the least. "Aren't you scared your make-up'll run or something?"

Holly can consider this a success on the grounds of having made someone laugh, and that's all she really needs out of life. It may be different, but Holly can't imagine doing things in any way other than the norm. "This is the kind of fuck that I would call "having fun"," she says in reply to his first comment, but waves a hand dismissively at the last. "Don't you worry about that, you just hit the target." A pause. "If you can, that is."

He laughs at the challenge and struts up to examine the mechanics of the booth. "Girl, if there's one thing I'm awesome at, it's random feats of physical prowess. Sign me up. I'm in. How does this work?"

Holly practically beams at him for agreeing to do it, looking forward to getting a little wet- or a lot of wet, as it's going to be. Mostly, she just hopes it brightens his day a little, because that's mostly what she's doing this for.

She gestures at the basket of balls, "Take a ball in your hand. Get a firm grip, roll it around a little- get a feel for it. Use both hands if you need to. Then when you think you've got it, just toss it at the target," she gestures at the target in question. "If you hit it, I'll go down! Easy as pie!"

Sergius does exactly as instructed, plucking up a ball from the basket and rolling it in his hands. "This one feels about right. Okay, mami, let's see if you can swim, yeah?"

He smiles, snorting a little as he waits for her to assume the proper position in her booth.

"Oh baby, I can swim and I can do it without floaties," she says, before scooting back a little and sitting upright, fully prepared to get dunked. She's excited- a little nervous, but excited. She hopes whoever might be watching is enjoying it too, because she hasn't done something this fun in a while and she loves to put on a good show. "Show me what you've got!"

"You got it, baby." He decides to go right for the jugular and aim directly for the target. Smirking boldly, he winds up the pitch, then lets it go!

Holly doesn't even have time to prepare for it before the platform she's sitting on falls out from under her and she's plunging under water. It's not long after that she pushes up and breaks the surface, her wig going a little lopsided. She spits out water, but her makeup isn't running at all.

"Am I still pretty?" she asks, trying to squint at her reflection in the tank, but not able to get a decent look.

By this point, Sergius is cackling his ass off... all in good fun, of course. Snorting, he approaches the tank, to see if Holly needs any help getting out. "You look like a mermaid. A beautiful, soggy little mermaid."

This is something you don't see everyday. Especially not where Firo's from. Before he has time to process that moving on might be the best idea, he's already stopped in his tracks for a double-take.

He approaches the display, only to bypass the tennis balls and walk right up to the tank. "Uh, miss? What exactly are you tryin' to do?"

As Firo watches her, Holly bounces a little on the platform she's sitting on, waving at him encouragingly in the hopes it brings him over to play. She isn't expecting him to bypass the balls though, but she doesn't mind so much. When he stops in front of the tank, she leans forward so as to give him her full attention. "I'm trying to help people have a little fun!" she says. "Things get a little... well, dark around here sometimes. I just want to brighten things up a bit."

Dark. Isn't that an understatement.

Hands on his hips, he raises an eyebrow. "This doesn't seem like it'd be very fun for you."

She looks like a Capitolite, though, so he feels like he should be jumping at this chance. At the same time, this is no way to treat a lady.

Holly lets out a laugh at that, shaking her head. "Of course it's fun for me!" she says. "If it makes you smile, then I'm happy. So go for it, nail that target and give me a good dunk!" She gestures to the tennis balls enthusiastically.

Luckily for Firo, Holly is only a lady in spirit and the rest is just padding.

Firo can't imagine ever getting something out of a stranger being happy, but more power to her if that's how she sees the world.

"Seems like settin' up a game a' stickball would be an easier way to enjoy yourself..." Or maybe not quite; that is a lot of people to wrangle. He still has to wonder how much effort this display took.

She seems cheery enough that Firo's considering going for it, taking a few steps back to the tennis balls. "I gotta warn you that my aim's pretty good."

There was no such thing as little league for kids like him, but random games on the street were practice enough.

Firo's words only make Holly grin widely, a touch mischievously as he starts taking a step back towards the tennis balls. "Then show me what you've got!" she says, bouncing once more in her seat to urge him on.

She would much rather do this than organize a game of stickball, that kind of thing has never been in her interest. The other kids were off playing games, Holly was too busy reading Capitol magazines and keeping clean. "Tell you what, if you can dunk me in three tries, I'll take you out for dinner, on me!" Because everyone needs a fancy dinner to make them happy, right? Of course.

He laughs and scratches his head. To be honest, he's a little confused by her being this cheery. It reminds him of his absurdly happy friends Isaac and Miria, except weirder because it's coming from someone too connected to this crazy place.

"That's awfully friendly a' you. But, uh, I think I'm okay, thanks." Unless hanging out at the Family restaurant counts, he's never really been out to dinner, especially with someone who's practically a stranger.

He picks up a tennis ball and--after tossing it in the air and catching it to get a feel for it--pitches it toward the target. He aims to miss this time, sending the ball just a little to the side of the target. He wants to see if she'll jump when the prospect of actually getting dunked is near--if she doesn't, then he can try his next shot with a clear conscience.

Holly is pretty used to people not taking her up on her offers, to be quite honest. Most people don't really want to hang out with Capitolites, thinking they must be dangerous or something. She doesn't let it bother her, but she does wish that sometimes they wouldn't expect the worst out of people like her. She mentally makes a note to just send him a gift basket of candy or something later, regardless of whether or not he actually dunks her.

And speaking of, when he throws the first ball, Holly only flinches a little because regardless of how excited she is, the idea of suddenly falling is a bit scary. But she relaxes when it's a clear miss, and she lets out a laugh. "Strike one!" she says, in her best booming announcer voice- and it's quite booming, she can go deep when she wants to.

She's far too sweet. Unfortunately, expecting the worst from people is how you stay alive where he's from.

The smirk slips off his face when he notices her flinch. "If you really don't wanna do this, you can still back out. I won't tell anyone. Promise. Don't hafta worry about losin' face or anything."

Considering all the innuendo in her advertising sailed right over his head, he hasn't realized that she might not care too much about what people think of her.

Despite his promise, he throws a second ball... Not to be a jerk and fake her into security, but only to miss again. Hey, now there'll be more tension when he takes the last shot.

"Of course I do!" Holly reassures him with a wave of her hand. "The anticipation is just a little scary, that's all! But in a fun way!" She bounces in her seat as she waits for him to send another ball her way.

This time, she's sort of expecting him to miss, so she doesn't flinch much when he tosses it. She's starting to believe that his talk of good aim had been exaggeration, because she's not wet yet! "Strike two!" she booms again, holding two fingers up and giving them a wiggle. "Come on, I thought you had good aim!"

"I wouldn't think scary things and fun things would ever overlap, but if you say so..." He supposes he can do nothing but actually go through with this now. Hopefully her good humor will last.

He can't resist a little more joking first, though. He grins and shrugs. "Maybe I lied to you."

He grabs one last ball and, because he's a cocky little jerk like that, backs up a few more paces before throwing it. This time, he throws it straight at the target so she can have her long-awaited plunge.

Holly just lets out a small giggle at that, because she really doesn't know how to explain it. Sometimes it's just fun to be scared! Maybe that's a weird thing, but hey- as long as it gets her dunked and somebody has fun, that's really all that matters in the end.

Her eyebrows raise at the next comment, but she doesn't really have time to react before he's throwing the ball and suddenly there's nothing under her. Holly lets out a screech that's abruptly cut off by her plunging under water. She pushes herself up quickly, breaking the surface with her hair plastered to her face. She spits out water, before breaking into a smile and reaching up to pull strands of hair away from her eyes.

Not a drop of her makeup is running.

"You did it!" she says loudly, pumping a fist in the air.

He nearly curses out loud when she makes that sound and he's halfway to the tank when she pops up. Immediately after the typical human concern for another human, he's also concerned for his own skin if he accidentally does something to a Capitol person.

But, no, as soon as she's above the water he can see that she was being honest about finding it exciting. He relaxes enough to force a crooked grin. "Didja really think I couldn't?" Well, he supposes he couldn't blame her after his act.

He walks the rest of the way to peek over the edge of the tank at her. "Are you gonna be able to get outta there yourself?"

Twiggy as he looks, he's strong enough to lend a hand if need be. Or try.

If she knew what he was thinking about, Holly would try her best to reassure if that he has nothing to worry about as far as harming her. She wouldn't let someone get punished over something like this, not when it's her own idea.

"Maybe a little!" she says cheerfully, giving him a wink. "But I still had faith in you!" She waves a hand dismissively and pushes the platform back up until it clicks into place, before pulling herself back up onto it. "I'm fine!" she says, flexing a muscle to showcase she's not a total weakling. "And look- my makeup isn't running at all! This stuff is a miracle. Thanks for helping me test it!"

He picks up one of the tennis balls off the ground, tossing it up and catching it a few times.

"That's the kinda thing you call a miracle?" He manages to keep a good amount of the disdain out of his voice, but not all of it. These people are incomprehensible to him.

"Wait, so this was just to test that..?"

He was pretty sure there had to be a much easier way.

"Well..." She hesitates, almost sensing his disapproval but not quite placing it as such. "A tiny one, at least." Holly shrugs, moving to start climbing out of the tank so that she can move towards a tiny table where her towel is sitting. "I like tiny miracles, they make life better."

She starts to dab at her face to dry it, before giving him a nod. "Yep! I mean, I wanted people to have fun but I also wanted to test out my makeup, so it's a win-win for everyone right?"

"...Depends, I guess." He could certainly use any sort of miracle right now, though he'd prefer a big one along the lines of getting the hell out of here.

No offense, Holly.

He half-smiles, a little amused. "Just seems like there'd be a quicker way to do it. 'Least for the makeup part, not that I really know how that works."

The disclaimer just slips out, something that his subconscious feels is necessary given how often he gets accused of being girly.

Harley was drawn like a moth to the flame as the flashing neon and exploding rainbows beckoned to her with their tacky flare.

Wide eye'd with a grin that spread from cheek to cheek she turned her attention to the dunk tank itself and the tennis balls. She had a bag of candy in one hand and was fresh from the outside as her cheeks were rosy with blush from the chill in the air. Unzipping her jacket now that she was inside where it was warm Harley finally spoke excitedly giving a jump.

"I do! I wanna make it happen! Pick me!" She threw a hand in the air volunteering despite the fact that on one else was stepping forward.

Enthusiasm is always something that Holly can appreciate, so when her tank catches Harley's eye and causes such a reaction, she breaks into a grin. "I pick you! I pick you!" Not that there's anyone else to pick, but that's not really the point, now is it? Holly scoots back a little so that she's sitting firmly on the platform, knowing full well that Harley has probably got some good aim, so she's ready to be dunked.

"Show me what you've got, baby!" she says, leaning back and pushing up her padded breasts a couple of times "seductively". "My body is ready."

Harley was practically levitating with delight. She set her Candy bag down collecting a ball and taking a stance like a professional or as close to a professional pitcher as Harley could pretend. She spun her arm a few times, stuck out her tongue and closed one eye before taking a swing and hurling the ball with all her might.

It missed by about two feet sailing out of sight and someone yelped.

"Sorry!!!" She shouted already picking up her second ball and throwing it with much less build up. If the peacekeepers came to haul her away for that first throw she wanted to be sure she dunked Holly before they arrived. This ball found it's mark with significant force and a cheer from Harley.

Luckily, no one comes to haul Harley away and by the time she throws the next ball that actually does dunk Holly, the queen has been lulled into a false sense of security and isn't expecting the ball to land it's target. She falls into the water with a scream, before breaking the surface about as elegantly as a wet cat.

She spits water out, wiping it out of her eyes too. "Good job!" She brings her hands down to look at them, noting there's no makeup smudges from wiping her eyes. "Ooh, this stuff works!"

Harley was cackling with delight as she skipped over to offer Holly a hand climbing out of the tank.

"Wowzers! I gotta get some of that! When my makeup runs I look like a homicidal albino raccoon."

Then again Harley typically wore only slightly more makeup then your average drag queen when she was in her full jester outfit. She only ever broke out that level of makeup for parties these days.

Tom has had fewer problems with his Escort than many of the Tributes have had with theirs; the truth is, he finds Holly a bit charming. Not someone he'd want to be around when he's in a bad mood, but as he's been cooperative in reaching out to Sponsors and has his own Irish whiskey campaign through Jennifer, all his interactions with Holly have been generally positive. She's spread thin between nine Tributes, and Tom has all but made it a point to ease her burden by making do for himself.

"Holly, dear, wouldn't that imply that I don't already?" He walks up, carrying his cane because his leg's having a good day today, a grin on his face. There are spots of snow on his beard, in his hair and on the fur collar of his long coat. His face is a little ruddy from the cold weather outside. "What's all this about?"

Holly appreciates the help where she can; even though she tries to make time specially for all of her tributes, sometimes she just doesn't have the time to give each of them the attention they deserve. Luckily, she has a few who seem pretty self sufficient, like Tom. She brightens up even more than she already is when she sees him, and gives him a cheerful wave before giggling a little at his comment.

"Ohoho, well maybe we can talk about that a little later, hmm?" she teases, giving her eyebrows a quick waggle. She shrugs at the question, waving a hand dismissively. "Oh, you know- just spreading a little fun around. It seems sparse lately, I thought people could use a good smile."

She leans forward, putting a hand next to her mouth as she stages whispers the next bit, "And between you and me? I have some waterproof makeup I wanna test out, so it's a win/win!"

"You've certainly gotten that out of me." Flirting with a Capitol citizen always has the air of danger to it, as if it sheds light on the difference in power here. Even feminized, giggling, dangling over a dunk tank, Holly Day has more sway in this city than Tom could ever hope to have.

Unless he wins.

He takes one of the balls to throw at the dunk tank. "Ah, how very efficient of you. And here you look so self-sacrificing, lassie, and it's all a ploy to help you, what's the term you lot use. 'Beat your face'."

He grins. "You're sure there won't be any hard feelings?"

It doesn't feel too dangerous to Holly, but mostly because as a fairly promiscuous acting drag queen, flirting with everyone tends to come pretty naturally. But since she's happily taken, she wouldn't actually go for anyone she flirts with now. It doesn't mean she doesn't lay it on pretty heavily from time to time though.

Holly lets out something akin to a cackle at his words, throwing her head back. "You caught me! I'm actually pretty selfish on occasion!" She presses a hand to her mouth and widens her eyes like she's been caught doing something scandalous. "Nice use of drag terminology, baby, I'm so proud of you!"

Her lips quirk up into a smirk, and she folds her arms over her chest. "There's a lot about me that's hard, but feelings ain't one of them, so throw your balls my way!"

"I wouldn't be much of a world traveler if I couldn't pick up on local dialect," he says, smoothing his mustache before he tosses the ball hand to hand.

"I'd say you're being unladylike but we know that's far from the truth." With relatively perfect aim, he throws the ball at the target and sends Holly into the water with a momentous splash of petticoats.

Holly is too caught up in the conversation to even notice that he's throwing the ball, but she doesn't have a chance to reply to him before she's suddenly plunging into the water and taking in a mouthful of water. She springs up from the bottom quickly, spitting the water out majestically when she breaks the surface.

"Wow!" she lets out, coughing a little and wiping the water out of her eyes. "I wasn't expecting that!" She swims over to the wall of the tank, squinting as best she can at her reflection. "It's not running!" she exclaims with a clap, grinning widely. "This stuff is magical!"

"Never trust someone who's done time as an assassin to miss." He picks up another of the balls and twirls it on his fingers, craning his head curiously to see Holly's makeup. She looks ridiculous, like a drowned rat, but it's true, the waterproof eye decoration has stayed on flawlessly.

"Bless your country's technology, Miss Day. Whatever will they come up with next?" It really is surprising and impressive what the Capitol is capable of, and Tom's familiar enough with the nature of human history to know that the materials being studied for waterproof makeup could unlock the secrets of renewable jet fuel in another context. Human ingenuity is one of the few things that regularly impresses him.

Well, THIS got Leo's attention from the list of requirements and exercises. Holly was an eccentric one but this was a surprise. He stared at the tank and shook his head, "You must be a bored sort of lady to think this is a good idea!"

Holly let out a laugh at his reply, giving him a big grin that nearly shined brighter than the big neon sign advertising the dunk tank. "Bored? Yes. But bored or not, I would think this is a fantastic idea. If it makes somebody smile, then it's completely worth it!" She winks. "So, you gonna throw a few balls or not, baby?"

"A smile isn't worth a trip to the hospital and you know it," Cora rolled his eyes with a grin. "All right then, how many shots do I get to dunk your ho ass?"

Holly ignores the first statement, choosing instead to focus on the fact that he's starting to play along and she's absolutely thrilled. She lets out a loud laugh and claps a little, before she calm down and lets out a loud "Hmmm," at his question. "Let's see... how many do you think you need, exactly? You don't think you can do it on the first try, baby?"

"Oh I know I can't do it in one try, but I'll keep at it until you're all wet," Leo added to the banter and grabbed three balls, "And what say, happens if I don't land?"

Ohoho, Holly lets out a giggle when he says that, because it sounds oh so deliciously dirty and she's loving every second of it. "Well, that's a tough question. I would say you'd owe me, wouldn't that be fair? What, of course, would be determined later." She can think of a few things, like a nice, friendly butt grope. Totally platonic. Her intentions are totally pure.

The first two throws were misses but Leo keeps his grin on his face, "Well, sugar, you're gonna have to think fast because I'm off my game." Maybe he was doing on purpose if to avoid Holly getting a cold.

Holly has the niggling suspicion that he's missing on purpose, but she'll play along regardless. "Well you better get on your game pretty quickly, cuz you're running out of chances!" She bounces in her seat, swinging her legs back and forth from where they're dangling over the edge of the platform. "It's oh so dry up here, you know. I'm waiting for you to fix that."

"You're asking for hell on earth," Leo scolded and threw the last ball. It landed on the target and Leo celebrated, "Yes! Got you!"

Wait.

Leo sprinted over to Holly's help, "Dammit, your wiles blinded me."

Holly lets out an excited shriek when she feels the platform drop out from under her, only to get a mouthful of water that she promptly spits out when she breaks the surface. Shaking her hair out of her face, she moves over to the edge of the tank. "That's okay, darling, my wiles tend to blind everyone." Wink wink.

"Bull...you've been trying to cheer everyone up and now we have to get you dried off," Cora scolded without much to back it up other than concern for his sopping wet companion.

"Is your room open? You need a towel fast and no that's not for you to enjoy," he quipped and held out his hand for Holly to grab.

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If you want it wet then you gotta make it rain!

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sorry for the delay! work has been hell

no worries!

Re: no worries!

Re: no worries!

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