InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "--cha-ching!--"

Lorne (i_host) wrote in we_coexist,
@ 2011-05-22 16:22:00

Entry tags:

logan echolls, lorne

Routine (open to Logan or Ivy or both)
Lorne settled nicely back into life in the City, once it stopped making him behave like a human child. The masquerade, the hat, snappy as it'd been... he'd had to do a lot of explaining to Fred, and a few other people, that mid-twenties for him was a lot like the terrible twos for humans.

His Sea Breeze intake was increasing.

While grateful for the City's gift of Caritas, Lorne didn't care for the up-in-the-air way in which it functioned. LA was good, it was predictable, mostly. Bad things happened to good people, sure... but it was unlikely you were going to be institutionalized, turn into a child and receive myriad messages about a personal ad you didn't place.

The outside observer would not know anything at all was getting to Lorne. Business as usual was exactly that--business as usual. The music played, the booze flowed, the wings were served hot.

On this particular night, after offering a comic book character he didn't recognize a little advice on how to cope with his loss of nemesis, Lorne sat on the edge of the club's stage with a mic in his hand and a huge smile on his face. He handed the mic off to the next willing singer, who chose to belt out a version of a Pink song that actually half made him wince.

He smiled at patrons as he walked past, and offered to refresh their drinks. When he got to the bar, he held his own glass out, with wide eyes, and nodded heartily. He hardly noticed the person on the stool to his right.

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i_host
2011-05-31 11:25 pm UTC (link)

"I realize I look like I *might* be kidding you," Lorne began, "but the thing is, kid... whether or not they sing on key, people, demons, vampires... celery... it all bares the soul when it's said with a song."

He took a drink, and smiled very slightly. "Sometimes it works when there's humming, but the picture just isn't as clear. And if you're squeamish about singing for this crowd, two things: one, most of them are 3/4 of the way into the bag, and two: you can sing happy birthday, quietly in a corner, just loudly enough that I can hear it."

The Titanic singer made an earsplitting noise with her voice. Lorne winced. "I'll tell ya, that song is going on the banned list. I don't deserve this punishment. Neither do paying customers."

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	i_didntdoit 2011-06-01 12:36 am UTC (link)
	Squeamish? Logan wasn't squeamish, nor was he a coward. "No, I'll sing. If that's what it takes, I'll get up there. The crowd doesn't scare me," he flashed an easygoing grin. Of course, he didn't stop to think what he was agreeing to. Not until after... "I think I might just need a few drinks first," Logan said with a decisive nod. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	i_host 2011-06-04 05:30 pm UTC (link)
	Lorne grinned. "Fantastic!" He nodded to the bartender. "Take care of my new friend here, would you Hank?" Hank nodded. "I'll add you to the list. It'll be a little bit before everyone gets done." He nodded his head. "I'm Lorne. They call me The Host." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

i_didntdoit
2011-06-05 03:49 am UTC (link)

Logan couldn't help but return Lorne's grin, despite the nerves that were setting in as he faced the prospect of singing karoake. He wondered what exactly he had signed up for. But then again, if he was going to sing, he at least had to make sure he picked a good song.

"Thanks," Logan said with a slight nod of his head, before turning to the bartender and ordering a Jack and Coke.

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i_host
2011-06-08 05:03 pm UTC (link)

"I gotta skedaddle for a little bit, but I'll make sure and call you up when it's your turn."

He waved his hand and turned around, heading back toward the seating area. Caritas wasn't packed, but it was pretty full. Lorne elbowed his way back to the stage, relieved the singer responsible for re-sinking the musical Titanic was done with her song.

"Well, how about that!" was all he could say. There were spots of feigned applause here and there.

"Next up tonight we've got... Lydia!" He looked around until he saw a dark haired girl make her way to the stage. "Lydia's going to be singing everyone's favorite Rolling Stones song-- 'Paint it Black!'"

It fit, too. Lydia had no color anywhere on her. She didn't smile. She just started singing.

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i_didntdoit
2011-06-09 01:15 am UTC (link)

Logan shook his head as the first bars of Paint it Black were painfully belted out. He nodded and handed the bartender a few bills for his Jack and Coke and then took a healthy swig of it.

He had a feeling he was going to need quite a few drinks by the time the night was out.

Logan flipped through the catalogue of songs, still trying to work himself up to the idea of singing karoake.

Well, if he was going to sing, he was at least going to go for broke and sing something fun. None of that sappy ballad shit.

With one swallow, he downed the rest of his drink and signaled the bartender for another. Only after he'd made it through two more drinks did Logan sign his name up for Beverly Hills by Green Day on the karaoke sign up sheet.

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	i_host 2011-06-14 03:40 am UTC (link)
	Lorne sat back and waited for his new friend to take the stage, sitting at the table closest to the stage and the center of the club. He took a swig of his drink and listened to the opening chords of the song, smiling at the choice. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

i_didntdoit
2011-06-15 12:57 am UTC (link)

When Logan's name was called, he made his way up to the stage. As he turned to face the crowd, he reflected that he quite possibly wasn't as drunk as he would like to be.

Yes, he definitely had a good buzz going. But he wasn't quite up to the point where a person usually made an ass of themself singing karaoke. But, he'd put his name in and it was too late to back down.

The first few bars of the song were a little shaky, but then Logan started to get into it. He was never going to be the next big rock star, but he managed to do the song justice and even had a few people singing along in the crowd.

It also was not even close to the most embarrassing thing he'd done in public. That honor probably went to the time he'd shown up at the school dance dressed like Tom Cruise in Risky Business and shouted into the microphone that everyone should wang chung tonight.

Logan finished the song and, for just a moment, didn't want to leave the stage. This was much better than Guitar Hero. But, he finally did step off, his eyes scanning the crowds for the green man who was supposed to have been able to read into his future based on that performance.

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i_host
2011-06-20 06:22 am UTC (link)

Lorne sat back, tuned in and paying attention for the little prods that came when other people sang, and sometimes, the big two-by-fours that thwacked him right between the eyes.

Logan wasn't always a nice guy. Lorne could see that. He could see a lot of antagonizing of other people, sometimes playful. Usually harmless. That was the general sense of the guy. But that wasn't what his song was revealing, that was just the bass line, so to speak.

There was a heaping helping of missing his old life. The song's lyrics really said it all, but it was more than that. The City hadn't been nice to Logan yet, except to give him another whirl with the girl he was so caught up in.

His future was hazy, but a few things were quite clear. There was a lot of the girl. There was going to be a roller coaster there. There was also a lot of Lorne.

"Huh," he said to himself, watching the crowd, which had started clapping along.

When Logan was done, Lorne waved him over. He smiled at him.

"First things first, kid. So your dad, the big time movie star, turned out to be the villain of the piece," Lorne said. "And nothing's been the same since. Except the girl. If I had a penny for every time I said something like 'except the girl,' I could buy and run my own resort where everyone is required to sing show tunes."

He smiled.

"I see a lot of her. I can't really give you specifics. As a Lady that makes me go ga ga likes to croon, 'baby when it's love, if it isn't rough, it isn't fun.' That's kind of the theme I see. You're both headstrong. It's going to have its ups and downs."

"I'd like to tell you money doesn't matter as much as you think it does, but I think the City's favor to you was Veronica." He raised both eyebrows. "That's her name, right?"

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i_didntdoit
2011-06-20 11:51 am UTC (link)

Logan's eyes widened as Lorne laid out a lot of things he shouldn't have been able to know. He studied him for a second.

"Uh, did Veronica put you up to this?"

He didn't know how she could, or why she would. But she was the only one in the City that knew about his dad. At least, he hoped she was.

The only other option was that Lorne actually could do all the things people said he could, which both gave Logan hope that someone could give him some guidance and left him unsettled that a man in what was apparently green makeup with prosthetic horns could somehow see his future, all because he'd sung a Green Day song.

He shook his head slightly to clear it.

"Sorry, it's just... this is all pretty new to me. Yes, her name is Veronica. And I'd say having 'ups and downs' is an understatement." He smiled fondly. "Veronica doesn't trust anything unless it's difficult. Not that I'm so great at the whole relationship thing myself."

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i_host
2011-06-22 04:19 am UTC (link)

"I've never met Veronica," Lorne said.

He wasn't really used to having to prove his talent. He missed Angel, suddenly. Angel was so trusting about his ability, and so was everyone who came into Caritas because of Angel--even the Wolfram and Hart crowd.

Lorne shrugged. "I don't judge, kid. I'm the magic eight ball you just shook up, that's all."

He smiled. "I can't tell you much about Veronica and you that you don't already know, cupcake. But what I CAN tell you is that your old life might not be what you get back. And that might not be the worst thing. I don't usually see myself in other people's destinies, but if you're half as good with money and a quip as I think you are, and you think you've got the salt to help run this place, some of your worries would go away."

The smile became a grin. "Y'know. If you can deal with working for a demon.

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	i_didntdoit 2011-06-22 04:35 am UTC (link)
	Logan's eyebrows raised. "Are you offering me a job? If so, yes. I'm good with the quips," he said with a small smile, despite the fact that that sounded lame. He looked Lorne over for a second. "But, um, do I have to do the face paint and horns thing too?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

i_host
2011-06-23 07:14 pm UTC (link)

Lorne nodded. Partially, he was being nice, it was true. But also, Caritas got pretty busy, and depending on the amount of supernatural mojo on any given night, it got pretty draining. He'd run it alone in LA, with the help of his fantastic bartenders. Things weren't seamless--it was a business, and it had its problems. It had shipments to sign for, bills to pay, and repairs to make. Lorne would love help with that, especially since Angel and his cohorts, except for Fred, were not here to distract him from any of it.

"The face paint and the horns thing?" Lorne shook his head. "I'd be insulted if you did, Beverly Hills." He smiled broadly, wondering if Logan realized what he'd really just said. He decided he probably didn't know. Logan's world had no demons. "Come as yourself. We've got one of me."

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i_didntdoit
2011-06-23 09:02 pm UTC (link)

Logan brightened at the prospect of not having to do make-up and prosthetics, though at this point he would have done it if he needed to.

"When do I start?" He tried not to sound over-eager, but the prospect of a job that didn't involve wearing a hairnet, of actually making more money than the tiny amount afforded by the work-study program, and for that matter, working in a bar, was one that he couldn't help but be enthusiastic about.

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	i_host 2011-06-24 05:00 am UTC (link)
	Lorne considered, briefly. "Friday. Come by around 3. You can see the happy hour crowd, get a feel for things..." He shrugged. Around him, the sounds of the club went on-- a pair of businessmen was singing onstage, swaying back and forth. Drinks were poured and served. "Sound good?" He already knew it'd work out. That was the benefit of the offer he'd made. (Reply to this) (Parent)

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