ArchivedLogs:In Tune

In Tune
Dramatis Personae Scramble, Tabby
In Absentia	2016-03-28 "Here's to us /both/ singing tonight."
Location <NYC> A-OK - Chinatown
Despite its dingey exertior and shady-plush interior, this is broadly acknowledged to be one of the best karaoke places in Manhattan. The main entrance is at the basement level, and opens into a bar with two screens for open karaoke. The song selection is extremely eclectic and spotty, but generally covers English, Spanish, Mandarin, and Catonese top 40s from the last few decades. If you've got a group of friends and some cash to spend, you can get your own private room and wail away to your heart's content. There is even a VIP lounge on the top floor. It is early into the evening and there's a street in Chinatown where one can hear the muffled sound of music and laughter. It all seems to be coming from a karaoke club. Inside, the club is already active with lively music, drinks, and small groups of people laughing and enjoying themselves. Thankfully, it is still early enough that the club isn't packed to the gills and uncomfortable. Someone is already behind a mic, potentially one or two drinks in, and is belting out some 90s pop song from one of the more infamous boy bands. At the bar, Tabitha is perched with a beer in hand. She's watching, and listening to, the person belting out the harmony to the song that she used to know so well. The young woman seems to be quite entertained by this. She may also be a drink or two in, herself. Scramble has just tumbled in from the street outside, and the faint breeze that follows her in smells vaguely of a fine, damp spring evening. She's wear a short, light black jacket over a bright red cropped top and tight, tight black jeans that lace down the sides until they disappear into massive stompy boots. /Someone/ is all ready for the club -- on a Monday night. She fetches up against the bar near Tabitha and orders a Yuengling and a shot of vodka on the side, her "{Thank you}" coming out in accented but more-or-less tonally correct Mandarin. She listens to the person at the mike for a moment, grinning wide and shaking her head slightly. "Dunno /how/ many drinks in /I'd/ have to be before I would consent to sing that one," to no one in particular. Then, suddenly, to Tabitha, with a manic gleam in her eye, "You working up your strength to give it a go, or here to watch the rest of us sound stupid?" When Scramble approaches near Tabitha, she takes notice in a passing glance. Tabby's attention seems to be firmly set on enjoying the courageous soul who's singing their heart out right now. She even bounces a little in her seat to the beat of the song. She catches the other woman's words, to no one in particular, and comments loudly enough to be heard over the noise, "I guess now's a good time to start counting." She grins towards Scramble. Lifting her beer bottle ever so slightly, she adds, "It takes me a while before I can get drink enough to go up there." There's a light laugh. "What about you? You diving in soon?" "See, I'm trying to give myself a head start," Scramble explains. Though once her drinks arrive, she hardly needs to. Lifts the shotglass as if in salute to Tabby, and downs the whole thing. "That's one." Now she finally sits, picking up her beer to sip in more leisurely fashion. "Probably," she says philosophically, "I'll dive in once I hit three. I'd call it at two if I were with a group, but it's a three-drink-then-sing kind of night. What's your name?" The question doesn't seem all that abrupt; it just kind of flows out of her. "I'm Scramble." Tabby grins, lifting her beer in return to the salute, and she takes a long swig, finishing off the bottle. Turning slightly to face the bar again, she places the empty bottle on the bar top, and waves a hand to try and get the nearest bartender's attention, ordering more drinks. Another beer for herself, and shot for her new acquaintance. Once the bartender arrives with both drinks, she takes hers in hand, "Well, I hope you don't mind if I help you get to those three drinks." Everything about Tabitha's body language says that she is simply trying to be friendly, and enjoy her evening. "Here's to us /both/ singing tonight." She takes a long sip of her beer before finally introducing herself. "Nice to meet you, Scramble. I'm Tabby." Still smiling, she casually glances back towards the mic as the current singer finishes up the song, and gets a cheer from the audience, which includes enthusiastic clapping from Tabby. "Thank you!" Scramble smiles yet brighter at Tabby's assistance toward her goal. She lifts her glass in salute again, and adds, "It's good meeting you, and may we both have fun!" before shooting that, as well. Setting the empty cup down, she claps and cheers loudly. "You know," she says once the applause has died down, "I'm going to let you call my first song. Only /partly/ because I have no idea what I want to sing." The jittery energy about her has eased and her lanky body has settled into a more relaxed slouch at the bar -- the alcohol is having an effect. "What's your genre of choice, if you have one?" "Oh yeah?" Tabby asks. "You may wanna reconsider that," she teases towards Scramble as a mischievous grin makes its way to her face. "For karaoke, I'm about the terrible pop songs, hair metal, and over the top ridiculous songs." Tabby takes another long swig of her beer as she watches the next person nervously walk up to the mic. "Please tell me that you're not actually good at singing," she asks. "I mean, its no fun for me to pick a song out for you if you can nail it, and suddenly you're belting soprano or something, you know?" She smirks towards Scramble. "What about you? What's your flavor of public singing humiliation?" "What can I say?" Scramble tilts her head, shrugging one shoulder and quirking a crooked smile at Tabby. "I'm adventurous." Sips at her beer, considering. "Wouldn't say I'm /good/ at singing, but I can carry a tune alright...when I'm /sober./ Three drinks in, though?" She swishes her beer slowly. "It's anybody's bet what register I'll even be in." Her eyes wander from the new singer to the screen behind them, waiting for the song they select to come up. "Depends on my mood. If I'm just pleasantly drunk, I go in for R&B. If I'm in a manic kind of way, J-pop or C-pop. If I'm feeling sappy, though, it's Latin love songs all the way." Tabby smirks towards Scramble. "I can get behind the R&B. Can't say that I know J-pop well enough to be able to pick something for you there." The person at the mic ends up picking a slow and melodic ballad, but has the vocal chops to back up the pick, which elicits a positive response from a few of the onlookers. "Well, now you gotta beat that guy," Tabby points towards the singer. She takes a long swig of her beer, nearly finishing it off. "I'm gonna end up beating you to three drinks at this rate." She smirks. "You gonna have a song lined up for me if I beat you to the punch, Scramble?" Scramble actually laughs. "Uh-huh. No way I'm topping that." She takes an impressive swig of her beer, not to be outdone. "You did have a head start on me, you know." Tilting her head back, she considers the question as though she expects to find the answer written on the ceiling. "Pop, huh? How 'bout Shakira, 'Hips Don't Lie'? Or 'Alexandro' -- Lady Gaga -- though honestly I only like that song for the video." Her gaze strays back over to the current singer's soulful performance as she works on the remainder of her beer. "I can shake my ass better than Shakira ever could," Tabitha scoffs in an amused manner before giving a short laugh. It seems like the alcohol is starting to affect her as well. She kills off the remainder of her beer and stands from her seat, suddenly feeling a surge of excitement. "Oh, shit! A duet!" Her eyes gleam with excitement at the idea. "C'mon," she urges Scramble. "We could do 'Hips Don't Lie', you know, if you wanna. I was gonna suggest Sisqo's 'Thong Song' or Eiffel 65's 'Blue'." She pauses and bounces excitedly, "Hell, I'll sign /myself/ up for 'Thong Song'!" Scramble's eyebrows lift up and up. "That so!" But it's the suggestion of a duet that finally gets her to finish off her drink, as well. "All /right/! Let's do it." She's on her feet -- only a little wobbly at the outset. Then, realizing, perhaps, it's not clear /which/ she means they should do. "Shakira first, then -- hell, all of them!" With that she's ushering her new partner in song to the queue.