684/Semi-professional Karaoke

Semi-professional Karaoke
Date of Scene:	31 October 2023
Location:	Karaoke Crown
Synopsis:	Naru and Adrien stop by the Karaoke Crown. Mizudori is there playing guitar.
Cast of Characters:	Mizudori Teion, Naru Osaka, Adrien Agreste

---

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    The Karaoke Crown perhaps isn't the place you'd expect to find someone like Mizudori, who is perfectly capable of writing, playing, and singing her own music without the need for karaoke machines or the encouragement of a polite audience. But the fact of the matter is any place which emphasizes music is a place she can be found, and she likes to watch other people sing- whether it's out of genuine interest in seeking out other talented musicians, or just because it makes her feel superior is unclear. Maybe a little of both- feel superior to the average people, be impressed and make connections when the occasional unexpectedly talented person takes the stage.

    Either way, the place is relatively empty right now, sometime in the early evening. Nobody's singing on the small stage, and most of the tables are empty although there's a couple people sitting around enjoying milkshakes or other snacks.

    Mizudori herself is off to one side, the girl as always dressed mostly in black but with green highlights. She has an acoustic guitar sat across her lap and is strumming out some pretty, but relatively sedate melody. Although it might be somewhat rude to just be toodling on her guitar in the middle of a public restaurant, none of the other few customers nor the staff seem inclined to stop her at the moment.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Okay, but if you haven't been to karaoke, you are completely missing out on a quintessential Japanese experience." Naru is informing Adrien as she opens the door to Karoke Crown with a soft laugh. "I mean.. most people will be absolutely awful, and generally that level of awful is both achieved and endured with enough alcohol not to care, but we are underage."

At least so Naru has heard? She's certainly never gotten involved with alcoholic karaoke.

"And if you are feeling shy, you don't actually have to sing, you can just get a milkshake and watch." Naru grins at him, generously providing him an out.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"Shy? Me? I guess I can be at times," Adrien admits as he walks alongside Naru only to halt a step so he's just behind her, and able to catch the door open above her head so the entire weight of the door isn't just on her. Not quite a 'holding the door open' but sort of helping with it. "I think this will be fun, too. I want to give it a shot so I can at least say I've done it before."

The blonde model from France grins brightly clearly enjoying the thought of being here, alcohol or not. He does muse thoughtfully, "I've never drunk more than a half glass of wine, any way, so I'm okay with skipping drinking in general."

"Milkshakes sound good though," he has to admit. "And snacks in general."

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    Many Japanese Karaoke parlors are the sort where you rent out a small room or booth, so you can perform in private for your friends without worrying about a critical audience. But this isn't one of those places- this is more like a karaoke bar, a small place where if you want to sing, you're on display for the patrons. There's some comfort at least in the fact that the place is small enough that there are never going to be too many of those. And right now it's especially slow, for whatever reason.

    Mizudori glances up from her place in the corner as Naru and Adrien enter, their arrival noteworthy only because the place is so dead. Her green eyes almost seem to glow in the shadows, as if she wore neon contacts (and you never know, she might). She keeps strumming on the guitar though, the sedate but complex melody picked out by her fingers drifting over the tiny room.

    She recognizes Naru from their brief meeting at the Tako Cafe the other day, but doesn't stop playing to greet her- not like they're friends or anything at this point. Presumably she would stop playing if someone got up to sing though. Presumably.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"They make really good milkshakes here." Naru confirms as she moves into the surprisingly quiet place. Clearly Monday evenings are not exactly prime time, but it's a valid break from homework, and extra work. She heads for a table not too far from the stage and looks up at Adrien to confirm that he's alright with that choice

A single brief meeting is hardly a barrier for Naru to smile warmly as she spots Mizudori and she lifts her hand in a wave to the musician. She leans a little closer to Adrien to be able to note. "That's Bass-chan, she's /really/ good. She's got a channel and posts her own songs and everything." A youtube channel is hardly an indicator of skill or ability, but mercifully Mizudori is a cut above most random teenage musicians.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Adrien Agreste just gives a little half-dip of a nod toward Naru when she chooses a table. He was really okay with any seat, as he wasn't familiar with this venue at all. The karaoke bar is being taken in with a look of avid interest. "I'm always up for a good milkshake. Though it is a bit chilly out at this point. I'll have to grab a coffee later to warm up." Or something warm.

His gaze slips over to 'Bass-chan' when Naru points her out with a look of interest. "Really? You'll have to send me the link to look it over later." Now that he was looking her way though he lifts a hand to give a faint wave before glancing to the table again. "Should we pick some songs then? Or would you like to go greet your friend?" He was okay with either and is already reaching for the little menu of songs that could be chosen, curious to see if there's any he's familiar with.

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    Mizudori acknowledges the wave of Naru and her friend with a lazy smile and an inclination of her head, the equivalent of a wave without stopping her hand moving over the strings of her guitar. Whatever song she's playing must be something of her own composition, as it's not recognizable as anything popular and it seems to just go on and on, more a distraction for her fingers than any sort of structured 'song'.

    When she notes Adrien reaching for the booklet of songs though, she gives a last few strums of the guitar then ends with a flourish along the strings, before stopping and placing it aside into a case which is laying open on top of the table she's sitting at.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"We've only met once." Naru explains about the level of closeness with Mizudori. "She seems cool though, even if she and Sayaka didn't exactly get along." Which is pretty much an understatement.

Naru slides herself into a seat. "I'm pretty sure they do hot drinks as well as cold, although I'd hardly argue for a post karaoke coffee shop on our way back to the dorms."

Naru digs out her phone and goes to dig up Bass-chan's links and text them over to Adrien. "There, now I can't forget later. Y'know.. I don't even know what kind of music you like." She smiles easily. "I had to try and explain differnet bands to Hinoiri on our date."

Naru calls over to Mizudori, not worried about disturing the few other patrons. "Evening! Are you going to sing tonight?"

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"That," Adrien admits, "Is a very good question. My father prefers classical or the great composers so I often have to practice playing those on piano, or listen to them." What did HE like though? Very good question. "My best friend in Paris liked dance music so I listened to a lot of that."

Great, now he's going to have to think on this. What did he like? Show tunese? Musicals?

His phone goes off and he reaches down for it automatically even though it was Naru texting him as she said she would. A quick glance just to confirm it was her, and not someone else, and it's tucked away again.

"Oh, I like rock! I knew a famous artist in Paris, Jagged Stone. Really nice guy. His pet alligator is a bit bitey though."

When Naru calls over to Mizu he looks up grinning as well. "We're trying to pick some songs. Any recommendations?"

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    Mizudori looks up from putting her guitar away when Naru calls over to her. She gives a laconic shrug and a half-smile as she sets the instrument case down, replying in her low-toned voice, "Maybe. We'll see. They don't like it when I make the other customers look bad. Discourages repeat attendees, y'know." The tone she uses is half-joking, as if she's just being facetious, but there's every chance that is actually true.

    To Adrien's question about recommendations, she gives another shrug and raises her eyebrows. "Pick something you won't screw up too bad, that's my recommendation." She replies, with a playful wink. "The critics aren't too harsh here, but it's still easiest if you're treading on familiar ground. At least at first."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Oh don't worry. I will make everyone else feel great about themselves." Naru informs the pair of them with an easy smile of self depriciation. "You can provide good entertainment, and I provide the one that they laugh at, and decide they can for sure do better than that."

At least she's comfortable in that assessment, and still seems willing to do karaoke in spite of it.

"I mean.. there's nothing wrong with dance music." Naru comments to Adrien. "There's probably some euro-pop on there, and you'll actually understand the lyrics unlike most people who are mangling the english." Naru can't help but giggle at the mention of the bitey aligator.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Adrien Agreste chucklles at the suggestions which make a good deal of sense. Instead of going line by line through the list of songs he flips thorugh to see if there is Europop. Of course there is. "Ah ha! I know this one!" he declares before turning away to put in the request.

Since it's not busy that means he's right up there immediately. A bit quicker than he anticipated but he's up there soon singing along to a bouncy song. Well. Talking along to it? He hits the notes, but it sounds more like he's talking than singing. Somehow.

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    Watching Adrien ascent the stage, Mizudori rolls her eyes a bit, perhaps more at the choice of song than at the performance. It's not that she's above being harsh on that either, it's just that when you're so good, it reduces everyone else to a relatively narrow band of 'worse than me' that you have to be truly awful to be noteworthy in. Perhaps Naru will qualify, once it is her turn.

    To Naru, she says, "So, is that your boyfriend?" with a knowing smile- content to be teasing even if she's off-base with the assumption. "He's good-looking." A compliment which notably does not touch on his singing ability, although to be fair most people don't judge compatibility on singing ability.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Hey.. he's not awful." Naru listens to Adrien's choice and she grins, just delighted that he's lept into it. He's better than she is, that's for sure.

"He is good looking." Naru confirms, even if she does not comment on the boyfriend or not. "He's a model, and shy about the whole 'getting recognized in public' thing." She nudges her chin a little towards the guitar case. "How many instruments do you play?"

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    "Hey's on key, at least." Mizudori notes, which she can tell just by listening quite easily. This may not mean he is good at singing, but at least means he isn't hurting her ears the way Naru is likely to do when it's her turn up there. She watches the boy sing with her bright green eyes for several more moments before returning them to Naru. "But he lacks emotion in his song."

    She snorts in amusement at someone being 'shy about being recognized.' "Why even do an attention-grabbing job like be a model if you don't want to be recognized?" She asks, not even understanding a little since her entire deal is basically wanting everyone to recognize her.

    At the question of instruments, she glances at the case, then back at Naru. "All of them." She says, quite seriously.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I don't think it was his choice to become a model. I think his parents pushed him into it." Naru admits with a wrinkle of her nose. "Being good at it, and it being your passion.. two very different things."

Naru ahhs at the mention of all of them, and it is testament of her own lack of knowledge that she doens't seem surprised by the answer. "That .. seems like a lot. Cool." She pauses a moment and then asks. "So which one is your favourite?"

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    "Parents are the worst." Mizudori agrees. "Almost as bad as corpos and the government." So... basically anyone who makes rules or laws is on her shitlist, it seems. That should track for anyone who has talked to her for more than five minutes. "Mine tried to get me to do stuff too, but I didn't want to so I just said 'screw that' and did my own thing. He should do that too, if he doesn't like what they're telling him to do."

    Mizudori then offers a smile at the response to her claim about instruments. "I mean, I haven't tried all of them.. there's sooo many instruments in the world. But I've never met one I couldn't figure out pretty much immediately. It's a gift." She pauses at the question of which is her favorite, then shrugs. "I think piano or keyboards is probably the most versatile. Most of the music I make on my own is using keyboards and synths. But I like playing guitar too, which is why I play with a lot of bands and stuff. It's a different sort of vibe. Playing keyboard or synthesizer is very technical, it requires concentration and brains. Playing guitar is just.. fun. At least for me."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Parents can be the worst." Naru agrees and then adds. "Although Usagi's have always been super sweet and supportive of her.. and me too." She gives a little shrug. "He's branching out. I mean.. he's got friends. That's a step forward at least. His Dad sounds like a piece of work."

"Hunh." Naru thinks about the diffeences in the instruments. "Yeah.. that makes a lot of sense." She makes a little bit of a face. "I always wanted piano lessons, but never got them when I was younger. Now? I don't have time."

Adrien finishes off his song and Naru looks over to where he is and moves to go join him back at the table. "Want to join us for snacks?"