Karaoke at the Salty Scrub [Open]

[Piper]

The building really wasn't terribly tall, two stories at most, and yet it seemed very imposing to Piper. It was a cool winter night and the lights were shining brightly in the Salty Scrub bar and grill; people were laughing and generally having a good time inside.

It was karaoke night and Piper was standing outside, sweating despite the chill. Piper had not sang in front of a crowd in a very long time; the last time must have been when she was what, eight years old? At some grade school talent show. Piper remembered being dressed up as a gigantic apple but could not recall why.

Piper drew in a deep breath and relaxed her shoulder muscles before stepping inside. She could do this; Piper was someone who never shied away from attention, unlike the dull Anna that could never handle the spotlight. This is why she had chosen the Idol subclass, after all; she could always sing, but as Piper she would be able to sing where people would listen.

When Piper stepped in a Lander was finishing off an upbeat song she did not recognize; Piper noted that he could not carry a tune but he seemed to be enjoying himself anyways, and it looked like people were having a good time listening to him sing regardless. Or maybe he was just drunk and would regret this in the morning, and all those smiling faces were laughing at him rather than with him. It could go either way, really. Piper gulped and tried to shrug off her nervousness.

Piper settled down in a cushioned purple seat and started scrolling through the setlist. The proprietor of the bar was an Adventurer so there was a large selection of tracks she recognized from her time in the real world; still dealing with an overactive heartbeat, Piper was more than willing to take her time selecting one she knew well while others performed.

Word Count: 323

[Shuwen]

Words: 315

Shuwen stood behind the bar, preparing someone’s drink. Normally, he wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like this, but he wanted to find a way to improve his cooking skills, and working at a place that sold food and drink seemed like the best way to do so, especially if the job included on-the-job training. Fortunately, he was old enough to handle alcohol, and his chef class allowed him to mix basic drinks, in addition to making food, so there was plenty he could do there.

Normally, the sheer number of people talking and asking him to do things would have overwhelmed the monk, but he was able to tune most of the talking out as background noise, and the senior bartender kept an eye on him, handling the customers when it seemed to be too much for him, giving him instructions when he needed them, and made corrections as needed. Someone ordered a mixed drink. After listening to the senior bartender’s muttered instructions, he quickly mixed the necessary ingredients together. He didn’t do a great job, but it was good enough that no one overly complained either.

Somehow, he managed to hear the door chime over the noise, and reflexively looked towards the door. A female adventurer walked in, a monk like himself. However, that wasn’t what had gotten his attention. For some reason, she was rather… scantily dressed in certain areas. He reflexively looked away before he could be caught staring. That would have been awkward. Setting his eyes on the ingredients in front of him, he mentally reviewed the instructions for making the drink and followed them. Let’s see, fill this much of the glass with strawberry soda, add this much rum, and add this many spoons of sugar. Okay, that should do it. After stirring thoroughly, he poured it into an iced glass and passed it to the waiting customer.

[Piper]

"My love for you is like a truck BERZERKER... Would you like some making #%*& BERZERKER..."

Piper sighed as another singer hopped off the stage. Piper came here to sing, but instead she had spent the last half hour or so flipping through the setlist; she knew at this point that searching for the right song was only an excuse. She was nervous, and as things were she was never going to get up on that stage.

Piper headed over to the bar and sat down on a stool. She was never much of a drinker, but desperate times called for desperate measures... They don't call it liquid courage for nothing, after all. She called out to the bartender and ordered a rum and coke. She was pretty sure that was a drink that existed.

As Piper waited for her order, a new challenger appeared on the karaoke stage. Piper recognized the track; it was a soulful hard rock tune she remembered from a video game she used to play before the Catastrophe. He sang it very well, and a warm smile escaped Piper's lips as his voice brought back good memories. When he got to the refrain Piper found herself singing along in a quiet voice: "I've been away for so long, but like the winds of the summer weather I am back and I'm even better..." Piper's voice was smooth and clear, a pretty melody that was too quiet to be heard over the chatter of the bar.

Word Count: 250

[Shuwen]

Words: 285

Fortunately, the monk didn’t go out of the way to draw attention, making it easier for him to focus on his work. It didn’t take very long for her to slip away from his mind, at least until she stood up and walked over to the bar.

Unfortunately, Shuwen tried to cover his nervousness and ended up talking too quickly.“Uh, sorry, wehaven’tbeenabletomakemodernsodasyet.” Realizing his mistake, he repeated himself, slower this time. “Ga- sorry, we haven’t been able to make modern sodas yet.” If she asked why, he’d quickly attempt to elaborate. Even though the adventurers' combined technical knowledge had enabled them to recreate a lot of things that hadn’t existed in the original game, there were limitations to both their available technical knowledge, and the means they had to create them. Modern sodas surpassed those limits.

They were able to replicate old-fashioned fruit-flavored sodas by using natural sugar and syrup made the fruits themselves as ingredients, but modern sodas such as coke required certain additives like caffeine and phosphoric acid, which they had no way of getting or creating. And perfectly replicating their taste would require knowing or figuring out a soda’s natural flavorings, which was a trade secret of the coca-cola company; something that, as far as the monk knew, was currently beyond the knowledge of the game’s brewers. If anything, they were lucky to have carbonated water and therefore soda in the first place.

Instead, Shuwen suggested she pick one of the fruit-flavored sodas to mix rum with instead. Since they were made from natural fruits, as opposed to chemicals and artificial flavorings, they had a tendency to taste better then the ones from back home. They were almost certainly a bit healthier too.

[Piper]

► WORDS: 269 ◄ ►Shuwen◄ ► MONK/IDOL/TAILOR ◄ ► HP 100% - mp 100%◄

» Piper nodded her head and apologized for asking for something they did not have, not bothering to request an explanation. She amended her order to a rum and cherry soda, praying that that was a combination that still worked. She rubbed her shoulder; it felt like she was tensing up more than anything at this point. She could really use that drink. Whoever was singing at the moment must have not been singing in English; the auto-translator was trying to translate the meaning of the lyrics while preserving the rhythm and doing rather terribly at it. Piper absentmindedly wondered if you could turn off the translator; she had never really bothered to check and did not feel like doing so now. She simply enjoyed the singer's pretty voice, Google Translate lyrics aside. As the woman stepped down, Piper decided to step up. She was here to sing, not to drink; Piper had confidence in her voice, she knew she could sing, she knew people would enjoy it. All she had to do was get up on the stage and sing a song she knew well and she would be fine. Piper, while finally working up her resolve, was suddenly cut off by a large, burly man coming in from the other side of the bar; Piper's character model was quite tall, but this man was MASSIVE, and he did not seem to notice that he had moved in front of her. Piper's voice failed her when she tried to explain to the man she was next and she walked dejectedly back to her stool and waited for her drink.

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Shuwen]

Words: 318

Shuwen pulled out several items from beneath the bar; a recently-opened bottle of carbonated water, already half-spent, a bottle of cherry syrup which was only slightly used, and a bottle of dark rum, made from molasses. He normally would have gone for a lighter rum, but since she’d previously requested a coke, he figured a darker drink would be more to her preference.

Let’ssee now. Three ounces of rum, a quarter of the bottle of soda, and a liberal amount of syrup. Okay, that should do it. Mixing the liquids in the proscribed amounts, he used a small spoon to mix them together. “Ice or no ice?” Regardless of which option she went with, he also made sure to add a depitted cherry floating on the drink’s surface.

As he prepared the drink, the karaoke singers sang on. Fortunately, they weren’t playing any songs he knew or recognized; if they had, it might have been to easy to be absorbed by the music and distracted enough to neglect his job. That would have been a problem. The female monk seemed interested in joining them, but when she stepped up to sing, she was cut off by a large Lander; Shuwen didn’t even need to check the interface to know he was a Lander; his size exceeded the maximum height allowed by the Elder Tales’ character creation. Dejected, she quickly sat back down.

“D-don’t let people’s size bother you.” Shuwen commented without looking away from what he was doing. “Elder Tale’s combat system doesn’t take a character’s height or build into account.” Considering how much shorter he was, he hoped she’d take that seriously; if Shuwen had let himself be bothered by peoples’ sizes, he’d probably end up on the bottom of every totem pole. He’d only met a few people who were shorter then him, and they were either joke characters or much younger then him. Or both.

[Piper]

► WORDS: 462 ◄ ►tagged◄ Shuwen ► MONK/IDOL/TAILOR ◄ ► HP 100% - mp 100%◄

» Piper lifted up her head at the wolf hair's inquiry; she had actually forgotten she had ordered anything to begin with. "Uh... ice, please." She waited for him to finish up making her order and took the drink, thanking him quietly. She took a quick sip, tasting it to ensure she liked it. It had a strong, sweet taste to it; Piper decided that she did not mind alcohol and kept drinking. Piper smiled warmly at the bartender's comforting words; he seemed like a nice enough guy, even though he seemed to have an even harder time maintaining eye contact than Piper usually did. She gave him a friendly thank you as she finished off her drink. Slowly but surely, a warm feeling made its way into Piper's chest; it was likely insobriety, but to Piper, it felt like confidence. She put her palms on the table and pushed herself upward and out of her seat. Piper had already selected her song; it was a classic that her older brother had introduced her to, a fun punk song full of energy. She gave her request to the DJ managing the jukebox; he cleared it, nodded and directed her to the stage. Piper put a hand to the microphone and breathed in deeply. She looked around the audience; though some were paying attention, most of the crowd members were mingling with each other, the karaoke acting as merely noise in the background. She readied herself and made sure she remembered all the lyrics; despite being called "karaoke", whoever had designed the machine had not managed to figure out how to include a screen with the lyrics like what would be seen in a real world karaoke bar. The music was played from what was once the in-game jukebox designed for listening to the soundtrack, manipulated by a very clever bard/mechanic to play real world songs added by musicians who could play them from memory. Piper, of course, was not thinking of any of this; she was too nervous as she recognized the beat the lyrics came in on. "Well the kids are all hopped up and ready to go..." Piper began singing her own rendition of the Ramones hit, trying to stay calm and energetic at the same time. The music itself was played on a keyboard, as it was the best way to emulate the crunchy sound of an electric guitar at the time, and Piper sang along with it, slowly growing in energy as she noticed people in the crowd looking up at her, clapping and singing along, enjoying her performance. Things were going well, and Piper was having fun on the stage. She started dancing and bobbing her head, performing for the crowd just like a real rock star.

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Shuwen]

Words: 332

It looked like his question caught her off guard. Had she forgotten she’d ordered a drink? I guess she isn’t the kind that comes to a bar specifically to drink. That made sense. It was karaoke night after all, and he hadn’t seen her before, so that was likely the main reason she’d come. At least the drink served as a nice distraction from her disappointment. However, the deeper she got into the glass, the less she seemed to care. She certainly wasn't forcing herself to drink it, at least not after her first few sips. It didn’t take long for the alcohol to apparently effect her; her movements became quicker and more energetic, albeit less sharp. Before long, she made a request to the person in charge of the music, and had started up a song before long. It wasn’t one he recognized. It wasn’t quite the type of song he normally listened to, but it was catchy enough he had to make an active effort to block it out and prevent it from distracting him. The landers looked… a bit less then energized by the music, but they’d been listening to enough adventurer music for it to not catch them off guard.

Someone else at the bar ordered a strawberry daiquiri, so Shuwen hurried over to make it. A daiquiri was somewhat harder to make, and required more ingredients, albeit in smaller amounts. A fair amount of fresh strawberry juice, about half as much lime juice, about half as much rum (a lighter kind this time, made from cane sugar instead). The person who’d ordered didn’t seem to be much of a drinker either; that was the demographic such drinks were aimed at after all. He remembered the first time he’d had one. He’d thought it tasted great, except for the fact there was alcohol in it. It was the first time he’d managed to make it without needing advice from the senior bartender, something he was secretly pleased about.

[Sunny]

There was the rhythmic tapping of brightly-painted nails against the counter as a dark-skinned young woman watched Piper's performance. Nestled in a seat at the bar, her body was half-turned towards the stage, but her ears were fully-inclined to the voice that rose above the crowd. Sunny grinned and momentarily turned towards the blue-haired bartender who'd made her drink.

"She's not bad, huh", the patron remarked as she put the daiquiri to her lips and drank, voice laced with a noticeable Brazilian accent. Sunny didn't drink alcohol, to be honest; although, the idea had appealed to her on many an occasion, so why not try it tonight? It seemed like the thing to do at any rate. How did that English adage go again? Something to do with "beginnings"? No. "Ones"? No, that wasn't it either.  "Firsts"? Yeah, that was it. Now, what was the rest of it again?

Oh. She remembered now.

There was a first time for everything.

Yeah, and she'd definitely done a fair amount of firsts lately. Getting trapped in a game was one. Dying and coming back to life was another; although, that second one honestly had been the more surreal of the pair, almost like a dream. It'd left her jumpy for days after the fact. Ever since the Catastrophe had swiped everyone's slate clean, the Ritualist hadn't felt much like leveling anyway. She'd stopped going on quests and working on her stats altogether. Instead, she had become quite taken with the world's lore and culture.  The karaoke bar was a nice touch for one thing. Maybe she'd try it out.

---

 Words: 268

[Piper]

► WORDS: 252 ◄ ►tagged◄ Shuwen Sunny ► MONK/IDOL/TAILOR ◄ ► HP 100% - mp 100%◄

» Piper put the microphone back in the stand after she finished up her song; she felt happy and satisfied with her performance. There was scattered applause in the audience, so at least some people had actually been listening to her. Piper had been extremely nervous about getting up on that stage, but now that she had she could not feel more relieved. She walked back to the bar with a skip in her step. "Bartender, another drink if you'd please!" Piper was not drunk yet, just tipsy enough to feel a bit more free than she usually did. It was not a bad feeling, to be sure; Piper decided to take Saskia up on her offer to drink at her bar sometime. Piper noticed the other girl sitting at the bar; she was very pretty, for sure, and she seemed to have been paying attention to the karaoke stand. Had she watched Piper's performance? With the drink taking effect she decided to try talking to her. She scooched over to the seat next to the girl with the orange bandanna and gave her a winning smile. "Hi there, my name's Piper. You come here to sing?" That seemed like a good enough start, Piper thought. Her mind raced with possibilities of what the swashbuckler might respond with; Piper hoped that the girl was friendly and talkative. Gay would have been nice too, but Piper had learned long ago not to get her hopes up too terribly high about that sort of thing.

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Saskia]

HP 100% | MP 100%

Guardian - Cavalier - Brewer

____________________________________________________

Slender fingers dry themself off with a towel as she finishes washing the pile of dishes that were stacked up in the back. She walks out from the back and steps into the bar where Saskia listened to the heavenly tune from the blooming bombshell that just happened to take the stage. Saskia seemed mesmerized by the lovely tune and would bob her head with a pearly white smile and she wiped down the counter with a pearly white grin. She was dressed in the bartending uniform and was casually working for some extra money and to sharpen her bartending skills.



Her pink hair draped over her shoulders like cherry blossom petals and her enchanting sapphire blue eyes sparkled like gems as they held a rather mystical and enchanting gaze. Her nails were polished a delicate shade of pink. She began to sing along to the karaoke song in her passionately enthusiastic voice for a short verse.



“But we gotta to fix our vision, above the things that cloud our eyes....” She sang vividly. “When you see your full potential, like a Phoenix, you will rise.”



It was such a positive song that held true substance and she enjoyed the message that it passed on. She felt that it held even more conviction and resolve in Piper’s voice. She felt the vibrant aura that fluttered around piper when she walked over from the stage.



“Alright, sure thing, Piper!” Saskia went to the below to the fridge and



She bent over and reached down for the liquor bottle to start building her cocktail with a fourth of the heavy alcoholic liquor for a base. She poured the liquid into the glass, then proceeded to grab a bowl of pinneapples from the fridge, nodding her head enthusiastically as she grabbed the bowl and cut the pineapples up and mashed them together in a tantalizing blend. She grabbed another bottle and popped the top, pouring about half of it in with the original bottle. She then began to grab a bowl of cherries and began to add one of it’s contents into the mixture, making up a nice delicious decoration on top of the glass. Saskia smiled at the glass as she held it up inspecting it. She then pulled out a swizzle stick and began to pour the contents into a shaker.

Afterwards, she added [Britain Snow] from the freezer to cool the drink, and dilute it a bit to make a chilly cocktail. After closing the shaker, she began to shake the container, thus freeing the contents, breaking them down, and combining the ingredients. She held it in both hands, one hand on top and one supporting the base, and gave a short, sharp, and snappy shake, whilst making sure not to rock her cocktail to sleep. She waited for the water to condense on the surface of the shaker, then determined that it was sufficiently chilled and ready to be served.

If no one was present, she’d indulged in a bit of drinking herself. If there was someone, she’d slide it across the table with a wink and offer to let them try it. The drink would taste like a fruity cocktail that would have her go from sober to drunk in about 3.2 seconds.


"You sing like an angel, love..." Saskia winked with a friendly amiable smile. "Way to hype up the crowd!"

INVENTORY

EQUIPMENT: Starter Platemail, Starter Great Shield, Starter Longsword
ABILITIES USED: None.
Words: 565
Post Theme Song: Sky Segment





TAGS: Piper Shuwen Sunny

template by caesar

[Shuwen]

Words: 309

When Piper finished singing, she ordered another drink. Since she didn’t specify what drink, he assumed she wanted another rum and cherry soda, and was about to busy himself making it, but one of the other tenders, Saskia to be specific, replied first, and with a lot more enthusiasm then himself. How he'd ended up working in the same place as the guardian was beyond him. He didn't actually know her very well, but it was the second time they'd run into each other. First during the Temple of Tides quest, and now again at the Salty Scrub. They hadn't had opportunity or reason to talk yet, so the Monk wasn't really sure what to make of her.

Feeling sheepish, he idly slid the bottles of carbonated water and rum he’d just picked up back under the bar, hoping no one had noticed he’d been caught flat-footed. He scanned the bar once again; the adventurer who’d ordered the strawberry daiquiri complimented her singing. “Indeed, not bad.” While it wasn’t the kind of thing he normally listened to, at least it wasn’t painful on the ears, like some of the patrons’ singing had been. Closing one eye, he used the interface to bring up her character information. A Ritual Swashbuckler named Sunny. She certainly used an odd build. Had he not been on the clock, he might have asked her how she went about it, but couldn’t do so now.

Yet another patron ordered something else. Feeling a bit harried at the number of orders they were getting, the Monk quickly scrambled to it. Fortunately, they didn’t want a mixed drink, just some rum. Probably an inexperienced drinker who wanted to try some straight for the heck of it. Pulling the opened bottle back out, he poured some in a glass and brought it over to the patron in question.

[Sunny]

The song's finishing note was met with an ecstatic applause from Sunny and several others as Piper exited stage left, the pumping beat of punk rock holding momentary sway over the scattered audience. It was a style of music not entirely unfamiliar to Sunny, who'd spent enough time on the Internet to recognize it, and even though English was only her secondary language, she didn't need to understand every word to feel pumped up from the message.


Well, it was either that or the alcohol anyway.


Regardless, when Piper came along, Sunny beamed a cheery smile to the other young woman -unaware that her character build was being inspected by the bartender behind her- and offered a most enthusiastic and perhaps exaggerated compliment in her mother tongue. "Lindo maravilhoso!" Uttering that phrase was like second nature to the Brazilian, who had a taste for passing-out pats on the back. She doubted it needed translating -it sounded pretty obvious to her- , but she'd take no issue to sharing its meaning if asked. With the pair of bartenders buzzing about in the background, orders dropping left-and-right, the Swashbuckler was more than happy to engage in conversation. She liked getting to know other people, and Piper seemed nice enough. "Probably yes," she responded to the Monk's question and then offered her rune-etched hand in introduction. "Sunny. It's nice to meet you. "


When Saskia came around with Piper's order, offering her own kudos, Sunny nodded her head in agreement. Maybe she would sing tonight after all. That performance had definitely got her energy hopping.

---

Word count: 263

[Piper]

► WORDS: 255 ◄ ►tagged◄ Shuwen Sunny Saskia ► MONK/IDOL/TAILOR ◄ ► HP 100% - mp 100%◄

» Piper blushed and rubbed the back of her head at all the compliments she was getting at the bar (she assumed Sunny's foreign language phrase was a compliment, at any rate). "Aww, you are too kind. I was just having a bit of fun up there, nothing to be too proud about." That was a lie, of course; Piper was very proud of herself, and it felt wonderful to get complimented about her performance. She accepted her new drink from Saskia and gave an apologetic nod in Shuwen's direction. It seemed in poor taste for Saskia to steal a customer from the man, but Piper admittedly preferred ordering from Saskia and she definitely was not going to turn her down. Piper decided she would tip both bartenders before leaving. Piper turned back to face Sunny and accepted her hand, giving it a friendly shake. "You should sing! We've got a friendly crowd here at the Scrub, it looks like, and I'd certainly be happy to watch you perform." Piper took a sip of the drink Saskia had given her. It was... strong. Really, really strong. Piper wondered how Saskia managed to fit so much alcohol in a single glass. Despite that, Piper enjoyed the taste and kept drinking. "Eyyy Saskia," Piper said, starting to slur her words together a bit, "once you catch a break you should geddup there too. I haven't gotten a chance to hear you sing yet, I don't think." Piper gulped down more alcohol and gave Saskia a wide, friendly grin.

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Saskia]

HP 100% | MP 100%

Guardian - Cavalier - Brewer

____________________________________________________

Saskia decided she would help the blue haired monk out with a few of the bartending duties as she wiped down the mugs while he served the drinks. She saw him pouring a glass of rum for a customer and she smiled amiably at him.



“Better the Salty Scrub than the Temple of the Tides, eh?” Saskia chuckled. “Man, I can’t even look at seafood the same way anymore. I keep seeing those creepy fish faces.”



Saskia rubbed the back of her neck and yawned as she gazed over at her fellow wolf hair coworker.



“You working late again tonight?” Saskia asked “We always get stuck closing the place down.”



Her sapphire gems fluttered up to meat his eyes. “You know...after all this time, I didn’t even catch your name. I’m Saskia Steelheart. Guild Leader of Vylbrand Academy. But, it’s just Saskia or Sas. I’m not big on formalities. I remember seeing you around with some our the House of Crowns guys. You one of our allies or something?”



Saskia tilted her head as she heard the alluring voice of a foreign language from the dark skinned girl.



“Hey, what language is that? Don’t think I heard it before. I usually lived around the UK up in Gloucestorshire and parts of Scotland to visit my dad. “



She then peaked her head over at Piper who was indulging herself in a bit of liquor.



“Oh, yeah, sounds like fun. I go on break in a couple of minutes. I might go up after your friend here. “ She extended her hand to give the brazilian woman a gentle handshake. “Sunny was it? Like she said. I’m Saskia.”

INVENTORY

EQUIPMENT: Starter Platemail, Starter Great Shield, Starter Longsword
ABILITIES USED: None.
Words: 276
Post Theme Song: She Runs





TAGS: Piper Shuwen Sunny

template by caesar

[Fubuki]

Fubuki was smiling and humming with a very happy tune as he was slated as the next person on the stage. Although he was a bit nervous on the stage, he still kept that positive disposition so that he would not flunk on it. And who knows if somebody became more nervous than him due to his mood right now? Although he was a bit nervous on the stage, he was interested in singing in a bar. And this was no ordinary bar, to be precise. With the help of some mechanics in Londinium, a rudimentary karaoke machine was made, and although that only consisted of a jukebox with song instrumentals from famous bards and performers and a microphone, it should do the necessary job. It could also be considered a concert stage for amateurs, since the song would be performed on a live crowd which should give them the needed sign of approval. As he was flipping through the setlist, he tried to remember if he had heard the song, and tried to sing it with his mind. He much preferred songs of the 1970s and the 1980s due to their clear singing and their melodious tunes, but he was also ready to try out newer songs if he wanted to. Well someone might think that he was a much older person trapped in the body of a youth due to his song preferences, but it would be fine with him. He just liked songs with good melodies, though his preference may range from easy listening to good electronic rock, and he disliked heavy metal with a lot of passion.

Fubuki finally found a song that could match his voice, and then when the last performer, who seemed a look-alike of a famous singer of the 202nd (201x) decade, stepped down, he stepped on the stage with a calm demeanor, yet having an overpoweringly cute presence. The jukebox then let out a sound that seemed a good lot of instruments were used to create the minus-one track, and then started to sing a song from a singer-songwriter trio of the 1970s. Fubuki seemed to have a good control of the microphone, since the speakers of the jukebox were letting out a clear and lively voice from the boy. He seemed to have a lot of control over his voice, since even when the nuances of his song were reminiscent of the original performance, Fubuki added a touch of youthful timbre in his singing. It seems as if the song was tailored to fit his voice, and the song was finished very flawlessly to the very end that one might think that he was a well-oiled singing machine. The audience cheered very loud as he bowed and then went down from the stage. His throat somewhat irritated from his singing, he then went to the bar, and said to the duo of bartenders who were there, sweetly smiling, "One lemonade soda, please? Not too cool, if you may." Now Fubuki did not knew that one of the bartenders was his headmaster, as he waited for either of the two to respond.

COMMENTS

Here's the song, with lyrics included. Thanks for listening~!

tags - Piper, Shuwen, Sunny, Saskia

words - 521

HP 100%

MP 100%

MADE BY PHEO

[Shuwen]

Words: 420

Piper finished the song, and was met with a fair amount of applause, and in Sunny’s case, quite a bit of applause, even calling out in a language he didn’t recognize. What was that, French? Portuguese? Probably Portuguese. He did now a small amount of Spanish, and since the languages were similar, it wasn’t too hard to at least identify it. Of course, that was assuming he was correct. However, he didn’t need to bother asking the question, because Piper, drawn by her extravagant praise, scooted over to her and started making enthusiastic small talk. Satisfied with their ability to keep each other occupied, he backpedaled a few steps to bow out of the conversation, ending up right next to Saskia, who was surprisingly eager to converse with him.

“I guess? I seem have trouble connecting what’s trying to kill me with what’s on my plate.” All in all, that was probably lucky for him, especially since he was a chef. He was the one who usually had to make the dinner. She next asked about how late he planned to stay and work. “Yes, I don’t mind putting things away.” Since there wasn’t any pressure to get it done in a hurry, he found closing to be much easier then anything he had to do while the customers were still in.

She then went on to introduce herself formally. She was a guildmaster on top of being so many levels above him? It was making the monk feel a bit inadequate. “Er- I’m Shuwen. No guild, I was there because Zyrune invited me.”

Someone ordered a lemonade soda, a boy who looked more then a little too young to be in a bar serving alcohol. Shuwen wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by that, so he improvised a bit, used the same recipe as lemonade, but with carbonated water and a bit more sugar then the recipe normally called for. He figured it was unlikely the boy would complain, regardless of accuracy. Now that I think about it, aren’t carbonated drinks bad for your throat? Is it really a good idea to promote them on karaoke night? Actually, while Shuwen was correct about carbonated drinks and singing being a bad mix, karaoke night was mainly for the sake of promoting their alcoholic drinks, not their sodas. Karaoke encouraged people to come in large groups, and drink in large groups. The blonde sorcerer was more of an oddity due to being underage, and Shuwen was simply too oblivious to notice.

[Sunny]

Piper's enthusiasm was certainly contagious. Sunny felt all the more inclined to meander onto the stage; however, there was one thing standing in the way, and it was the ultimate of obstacles.

What to sing?

Hmmmm. . .

She wasn't given much time to think on it right then. Saskia had asked the inevitable, a question that was more than likely on the mind of anyone else who had been within hearing proximity of her voice. Sunny was willing to oblige, going between the Guardian's and female Monk's faces while she explained herself. "It's Portuguese. . . Ah, but Brazilian dialect! That's where I'm from, you see?" She could probably go on-and-on about her homeland, being that she felt homesick from time-to-time, but especially now. Moving to another country was one thing but to an altogether different world was a whole other box of chocolates.

She took another hand in hers and shook congenially. "Nice to meet you, Saskia. Maybe we can do a duet?" She laughed then and there, even as her mind brought her back to her earlier dilemma. In that moment, it was like every song she knew by heart suddenly blipped from existence, and she was left with a jumble of lyrics and chorus from the leftovers. She knew a fair amount of English songs but had no idea if they were already programmed into the machine's memory.

The Swashbuckler would have to give it some more thought, chill out, take another sip, and enjoy the good company that surrounded her. There was someone else on-stage right now anyway. He was good. . . .

. . .And young, Sunny noted when she turned to get a glimpse of him. Even from across the room, his youthful features stood out against the older crew that comprised his audience. His few years were even noted in his voice, clear and bright as it was.

How cute! The sight of the boy made her grin all the more. She waited for the song to end before applauding him and turning back to her acquaintances as they chatted among one another. "Whew! Any song requests, guys?"

---

Words: 357

[Tessia]

Slipping inside the bar, Tessia had to admit that she was really only here to find that girl she had met during the mission.  It was rather embarrassing that she had ended up with her and the girl in a, rather provocative position.  Despite that Tessia knew she had too go find that girl again and had tracked her too this bar.  The Tracker class skill was rather useful for that.  And surprisingly it was the bar that Saskia helped out in.  What a coincidence.  Slipping between the various patrons, Tessia kept a sharp eye out for that tall girl in the rather loose clothes and cute hairstyle.  

Truth be told, Tessia didn't think much was going too come from it.  It was a accident after all, how the two of them ended up.  But she was so sure the other girl had just a red face as she did, much more than one would have from a simple oops accident.  No, she was trailing after one of the few people she believed she could actually like, despite her mind consistently nagging at her too leave.  What would she think?  Would she just turn her aside maybe?  Laugh?  Maybe even call the guard?  It all didn't matter, she was there now and she would see it too the end.

Spotting the girl at the bar, and drinking a fair bit, Tessia nodded and began too approach quietly, despite the den of noise and talking more than enough to obscure her light steps.  It was like she was afraid she would scare away this chance.  This possibility that something if anything could happen.  closer still she crept, doing her best not too look out of place.  But unfortunately wearing a two handed battle ax on your back and dressing like a Assassin still tended to make others wary of you.  Slipping up close too the girl she tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.  "Um Piper right?  I am Tessia.  We had a mission together and all that.  Um......can we talk?"  She waited with butterflies in her stomach and her vision swimming a little from the sight of this cute girl.  Still she remained silent in wait for her response.

[Piper]

► WORDS: 386 ◄ ►tagged◄ Shuwen Sunny Saskia Tessia ► MONK/IDOL/TAILOR ◄ ► HP 100% - mp 100%◄

» Piper saw a young, blonde-haired boy take the stage; and by young, he was VERY young, certainly no older than fifteen or so. Was it okay for him to be in this bar? Piper took another sip of her drink and suddenly stopped caring. The kid had a nice voice, though Piper did not care much for the song; it would have been in bad taste to boo a child though so Piper cheered and congratulated him as he left the stage after the performance. "Woo! Nice going, kiddo." She gave him a pat on the head. "Keep it up and youse gonna go some places, I bet." She took another drink before pondering it and looking back at the young boy. "This is for adults, not for kids. Kids can't have it." Piper was not sure if the kid was even interested in her drink, but it seemed like the sort of thing a responsible adult would say to a child. Piper turned to Sunny and pondered her question. "Hmm... I don't really know! Maybe something Brazilian? Latin Pop is something I'm not too familiar with. I'd be excited to learn." Piper rocked in her stool a little bit; Sunny was going to be up on that stage, singing her heart out, shaking her hips... And in a few minutes, Saskia would too! Piper was going to get to watch all sorts of beautiful women perform. She was having a great time. She took another drink. Piper did not notice the new girl until she tapped her on the shoulder, distracted as she was. She nearly fell out of her stool in surprise, but managed to compose herself quickly enough to prevent catastrophe. "Woah, hey there Tess! Last time I saw you your head was between my legs." No longer even close to sober, Piper's tongue began to... slip a little. She slapped her thigh, motioning to Tess. "Come on, sit! Sit! Sit on my lap!" Piper did not give the smaller girl time to respond before physically picking her up and setting her down in her lap. She wrapped her arms around Tessia's waist and said, "All right, now Iiiii'm Santa! What do you want from Santa, little girl?" Piper flashed a wide grin at Tessia, her face flushed with the effects of alcohol.

MADE BY VEL OF GS