ʙᴇᴇᴘ ʙᴇᴇᴘ, ʀɪᴄʜɪᴇ (trashing) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-12-06 10:17:00 |
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Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, ₴ inactive: richie tozier (2), ₴ inactive: scorpia |
Scorpia hadn’t know what to expect the first time she’d come to karaoke, and had spent most of the night sitting back at the bar while Richie worked, watching the other singers, clapping and cheering for them. They weren’t all great singers - some of them weren’t even that good - but they all had fun and Scorpia enjoyed watching each and every one of them. Sometimes the bad singers were the most fun to watch, especially when they leaned into it, making it into kind of a joke. Scorpia wasn’t that brave, and so she appreciated anyone who was. She hadn’t, at first, understood why people were reading the words off the screen. Back in Etheria, it wasn’t uncommon for people to just burst into song and just make up the lyrics as they went along, which is what she’d done during her one and only on-stage experience at the Enchanted Grotto. But by the end of the night, she realized that these were already songs that everyone knew, and she’d decided to just sit it out, nursing some drinks and chatting with Richie when he wasn’t too busy with customers. But she’d come back two weeks later, better prepared. She’d listened to some music, and had found that she especially liked the music of Fleetwood Mac. And that was what she was singing tonight, shaky for the first couple bars until she managed to get her nerves under control. But once she got into it, she really got into it, dancing along as she sang. There was something very satisfying about hearing people cheer her after her song. While she knew that people tended to cheer after almost every singer, she’d still been half afraid that they’d boo her instead, and when she returned to her seat at the bar, she was flushed with pleasure. “How did I do?” she asked, a little breathless. Wow. Wow, wow, wow - Richie was super excited for Scorpia and, he had to admit, he had no idea what kind of a singing voice she had. Sure, she said she’d performed a couple times (once?) and seemed to be into it, but - the actual on key aspect, well, who could say? He wouldn’t have judged if she sounded like a pile of gravel that was shifting because it was all about having fun, but gotta say - he was pleasantly surprised. “You were great,” he responded enthusiastically, grinning so widely it crinkled his eyes at the corners and he reached up to poke his glasses northbound on his nose (sometimes they tended to slip a little while working, and also when he heard amazing karaoke from new friends who were shy about singing previously - because his jaw dropped and all). “Seriously. Totally amazing.” It was true - Scorpia had kind of a smoky, alluring voice that was all silk and jazz clubs. Maybe she could pick up a side hustle. “You ever think about auditioning for the musicals here? We just did one. You would have been amazing in Beetlejuice.” He puttered around the bar a little - Galahd was still one of his favorite Vallo places, probably because Nyx was one of his favorite Vallo people. Richie did his standup comedy, and sometimes he did market stuff with Prigany for money, and he made enough - really, he felt no need to quit his bartending job because he loved it. Loved talking to people and finding the newcomers with a chip on their shoulder, after free ‘welcome to Vallo’ booze (hi Catra). “What do you want to drink, by the way? I’ll grab you something.” It had been a couple months since she’d left the Horde, but Scorpia still wasn’t used to any sort of praise. She wished that she could wrap it around her like a warm blanket and snuggle up under it. “Oh, I don’t think… I’m probably a terrible actor.” She’d never actually tried acting, but she was no Double Trouble. “Oh, what’s that pineapple-y one? Could I have one of those?” Lots of pineapple-y drinks, but Richie might know the one Scorpia meant. “A piña colada?” he guessed. “I can whip one of those up for you, sure.” He thought it was a good choice - rum tended to go best with pineapple anyway, even if he was guilty of downing a shit ton of screwdrivers with OJ and pineapple juice at brunch (the gays did love their brunch). He liked when he got a chance to use the blender, anyway, and whirrrrrrr it went - a perfect tropical delight, garnished with a neon red maraschino cherry. “So you’ve been into Fleetwood Mac lately?” he asked, sliding over the glass. “Kind of settling in and learning about new bands?” Or he supposed they would be ‘new’ for her. For Richie, Fleetwood Mac had been what his parents were into. “That’s the one!” Scorpia said. As far as alcohol went, the fruitier the better for Scorpia. She’d tried some of the less-sweet ones and had decided that nope, they were not at all for her. She nodded. “I’ve been trying to listen to a bunch of different things. Who knew there were so options.” She was pretty sure that Etheria didn’t have so many options. At least, not ones that she could easily search with a click of a button. She took a sip of the Piña Colada. “Fleetwood Mac’s been my favourite so far though. There’s just something about them. What kind of music do you like?” Galahd had kind of a cool, very laid back sort of vibe - a good place to chill or to come listen to music; the stage was usually populated with some type of act, and very often it was karaoke. Outlander or otherwise. That was why Richie liked working here so much - he got entertained and also got to be an ear for people if they wanted to spill their guts to him (that actually happened pretty often - there was something about the bartender gig that made folks want to unload, maybe ‘cause they were unbiased? Who knew). So, yeah, he’d heard a lot of music in his tenure while working here. Some good, some bad. “I’m really into like, listening to music on vinyls - you know, records,” he said, rinsing out the blender in one of the sinks - he believed in cleaning as he went, which was kind of surprising for someone so chaotic, maybe, but Richie took that bartending seriously. “I had a whole collection back home. As for the type of music I like, it’s all about The Who, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Paul Simon. Classic rock, folk rock, that sort of thing. Modern rock too - and I like listening to the local bands that play here.” Not all of them sucked. “You think you’re gonna make a regular thing of this karaoke gig?” The Outlanders used to have a specific night for karaoke, but Richie wasn’t sure if it was still happening. Mostly it was just on a ‘life sucks right now, let’s sing out our feelings’ kind of unscheduled basis. “Uh huh,” Scorpia said, nodding as though she knew exactly what vinyl records were. Presumably it was something you could listen to music on. It was probably best not to focus too hard on that though, especially since she was mentally filing away the names that he was giving her. “I think so,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun, getting to sing in front of people.” It made her nervous of course, but conquering her nervousness was almost half the fun in doing it. I can do it indeed. “Are there a lot of local bands that play here?” Oh, sweet Scorpia - Richie was definitely going to have to introduce her to the world of records. Maybe invite her over so she could hear that warm vinyl sound, something that flattered the fuzziness of a rock and roll guitar. He didn’t have his collection from home here (yet) but he did have a record player he’d picked up at a vintage spot in the city, plus some staple vinyls. It’d be ‘on like Donkey Kong.’ “Plenty,” he grinned, wiping his hands on a towel. “This is a very artsy kind of city? I mean, there’s a bit of everything.” Theater, music, colors splashed on canvas in museums - Vallo was eclectic, Richie would give it that much. “And considering I’m also into performing, well. I like that part.” He loved being up on stage. Ever since he was a kid, he’d thrived on that kind of attention. Still did - it was electric, thrilling, and he was good at it. “And if you ever want to listen to a record, stop by Skyhold again. Honestly, I could go on for hours about music.” It was nice, and Scorpia always liked those times when she’d stumble upon some beautiful mural painted on the side of the building. The Fright Zone and the Horde definite hadn’t been artsy, or tried to cultivate anything artistic at all, and the rest of Etheria had been ravaged enough by war that stumbling across something artsy was pretty rare. Other than the occasional singalong, which was always nice. She took another long sip from her pina colada. “I’d like that a lot,” she said, her cheeks faintly pink. She still wasn’t used to having actual friends who wanted to do things with her and would invite her over just to listen to music. “I’ve never really had anyone to talk about music with.” “Me either - I mean, my friends liked music, growing up we had our favorites. But I was the only kid who steadily built up a collection and had shit to say about all of it,” Richie replied. “Here too. Max is into music but definitely more as a casual listener.” He came from a whole different time and place, where music was just - well, in Thedas it was pretty war-torn as well. They didn’t have a lot of time to stop and listen to a minstrel strum his lute or whatever, not when the world was always literally on fire. His husbando also had a lot of talents but karaoke probably wasn’t one of them? Sometimes he’d catch Max singing in the shower though. Stick to your day job of Inquisiting and stuff, Maximus. So yeah, you know - chilling with friends and introducing them to the wonders of Hendrix because they had an actual interest? Awesome. He liked that Scorpia was artistic - that she managed to come out of her own war-torn land and still be able to see the beauty in creativity. “You all geared up for the Catradora wedding, by the way?” he asked her. “Save me a dance, if you dance.” “I can’t wait for the Catradora wedding,” Scorpia said, privately amused at the portmanteau of their names. She’d never heard it before, but it was cute. “I’m still not really sure what to wear, but I’m sure I’ll find something.” It was hard finding a dress for a woman her size, especially when they had chitinous spikes on their shoulders, pincers for hands, and a huge curved scorpion tail. She had a couple back home, one that would have been perfect for the wedding, but she didn’t have any of them here. “I’m sure if we did dance though, I’d just step on your feet, so you might want to avoid that,” she added, embarrassed. “Eh, we can still cut a rug - I’ll show you some sweet-ass moves,” Richie promised. He wasn’t too concerned about getting stepped on. Scorpia definitely had that step on me, I’d say thank you kind of look to her though - very statuesque and dangerous, even if her personality was sweet as pie and she was liable to murder someone with hugs as opposed to stinging them to death with the actual weapon on her butt. Which, speaking of that (not that he was looking at her butt, he just thought it was super cool she did have a weapon on her butt)? Very awesome. Not everyone could say they boasted such a skill. “I’m marrying them, like, I was ordained?” he said. “You can get licensed to do it online, it’s pretty convenient.” He’d researched and looked into it - but there was some Vallo Universal Life Church or whatever (very pagan-based, like much of the religion here?) that would ordain people. Let them be officiants for a day - no need to create a whole Flying Spaghetti Monster religion or anything. “If you don’t mind,” Scorpia ventured shly. She’d danced a little with Perfuma and that had been nice - really nice - but that didn’t mean that Scorpia really knew how to dance. And she knew she tended to be on the clumsy side. Scorpia knew, in theory, what weddings were. The Horde didn’t have them, but she’d read stories when she was a girl, and she was always pretty sure that her moms had been married. But the Horde didn’t really have weddings, or marriages, and she’d never actually been to one, or really, knew anything about them aside from the fact that when two people loved each other they got married and threw a big party so everyone else could celebrate them being in love. She nodded though, like she understood all the words that Richie was saying, sipping from her drink. And then she said, “Your husband doesn’t mind that you’ll be marrying them too?” She thought it was a little strange that Adora and Catra were okay with it, but who was she to judge? Oh my god. Richie tried not to laugh but a little snort came out, because very amused. “I probably had that come out wrong,” he wheezed - the idea of them all being in some group marriage was equal parts amazing and also horrifying, especially when he considered the fact that he thought of Catra and Adora as like, sisters. And especially when they had kids who basically grew up together and then started dating (apparently - still fuzzy about those details, since old Adora hadn’t shared them). Yeah, no. No weird commune in this life, thank you. “It just means...officiant? Like the person who they stand in front of and say their vows to, and then I’m like - ‘I now pronounce you wives’ and stuff,” he attempted to explain. “Because otherwise I’m gonna stay married to my husband in a one-on-one thing, he’s pretty great.” Open marriages worked for some people. They probably wouldn’t work for Richie. Scorpia let out her breath in a whoosh of relief. “Oh good, because I was really lost.” She didn’t expect people to tell her everything - she was, in fact, pretty used to being told nothing at all - but that seemed like kind of a big detail to leave out. “That’s exciting though. Was it hard to get the license? Are you nervous?” “Nah, it wasn’t hard,” Richie shrugged. “Even if it was, I’d do anything for them so no big deal.” That was true - and he wanted to make Catra and Adora’s day as special as possible - whatever they wanted, however he could help, he wouldn’t hesitate. They had been there for his wedding - he and Catra made fruity pebbles fried chicken together! - and it had been such a great experience; Richie knew that, even if Max disappeared tomorrow (he hoped not, but it was sadly never a guarantee in Vallo), their wedding would have been all Richie desired it to be and totally perfect. Worth the risk. Worth everything. He wanted that for Catra and Adora too. “I’m pretty excited too,” he added with a grin. “I think it’ll be great. You want another, by the way?” He nodded toward Scorpia’s glass. “Don’t worry about getting sloppy. I can always call an Uber to give you a lift home.” Teasing. Mostly. But not about the Uber - he just couldn’t imagine Scorpia getting sloppy. “Me too,” Scorpia said, looking at her glass, and added, with a soft smile, a little subdued, “It’s good to see them happy.” She’d seen them after Horde Prime had been defeated, after Entrapta and Bow had freed her from Prime’s control, and Adora and Catra had seemed happier then, but the last time she’d seen Catra before then, she’d been on the verge of a mental breakdown and before Adora had left to go get Glimmer, and, Scorpia had only recently learned, Catra herself, she’d been stressed and exhausted and refusing to sleep. Them being together, probably Vallo itself, had done wonders for the both of them. She perked up at the offer for a refill though. “Oh, yes please,” she said. “Do you have any of those cute umbrellas?” “For you, I got plenty,” Richie promised - though he definitely had a shit ton either way, it was true. He got Scorpia another tropical beverage and selected a cute red cocktail umbrella for her - red seemed to be her color, and there were plenty in different shades. “Here you go.” Rich and thick, blended like a smoothie and chock-full of good pineapple and coconut flavor - yeah, he knew his shit when it came to making drinks. There was no way he’d quit working at the bar - why should he? It was good money. And good company. Definitely good tips too. “I better get back to work but if you need anything else flag me down, okay?” And if she wanted to get up there and croon another karaoke song, Richie would support that endeavor one-hundred percent. |